Semper Fi

by Hot Milk Rae

When Elliot accidentally walks in on Alex and Olivia in the middle of a scene, it triggers a downward spiral that might destroy several lives and relationships. A/O, A/O/ kind of not really E, unrequited E/O, E/K. Trust us, you WANT to read this fic

Title: Semper Fi

Fandom: L&O: SVU

Pairing(s): Alex/Olivia, Alex/Olivia/(Elliot... sort of), non-explicit Elliot/Kathy relationship

Spoilers: None.

Disclaimer: They belong to Dick Wolf, not us. *sad face*

Rating: MA + for BDSM content and some (sort of but not really) threesome action

AN from Rae: Okay, a lot of you might be unsure about this story, but I really hope you give it a try, because I think you will be pleasantly surprised (even you diehard true-love, monogamous lesbians like me). Basically, the story involves Alex and Olivia inviting Elliot to strictly watch (but not join) a few of their "scenes", but it actually has quite a bit of plot and drama/angst and explores how the arrangement begins to change their respective relationships, not necessarily for the better. I promise my usual happy ending though. If you're hesitant and want to see if the story is right for you, then you have my permission to skip ahead and read the end of the last chapter before the epilogue if you need some reassurance before embarking. Just give it a chance before clicking that back button. I truly believe that the majority of my usual fans will find it a more than worthwhile read. If you ever liked my writing before, trust me now. I won't steer you wrong. OH! And there's our usual fare of BDSM included as well, although A/O are portrayed as something of a switch couple.

AN from Milk: Rae covered pretty much everything, but I'd also like to encourage you to read with an open mind. We attempted to stay true to character despite any liberties we took with the plot. Enjoy!

...

Semper Fi

...

Chapter One:

"El! Hey, wait up..."

Elliot Stabler sighed, his broad shoulders sagging as he turned to face his partner. This conversation had been brewing since last Friday, but he had managed to avoid it so far by requesting the weekend off. Although he was glad to have a few days alone with Kathy and the kids, the real reason he had ducked out of work for the past two days was Olivia. They were best friends, partners, almost like a married couple, but different. There wasn't an adequate term in the English language to describe their relationship. It just was. But whatever they were, Elliot was worried that he had messed it up beyond repair.

"What do you want, Liv?" the former marine asked, keeping his voice clipped and emotionless. He forced himself to look at Olivia's face, but instead of the anger he expected, he saw a strange mix of sheepish embarrassment and something else he couldn't place.

"Don't you think we should talk?"

Elliot shrugged. "I don't think there's much to talk about. It happened and now it's done." Privately, he thought the situation was messy enough already without picking it apart during a heart-to-heart conversation. He would rather handle this the "stereotypical man way" - that is, pretend it never happened. But pretending was all Elliot could strive for, because there was no way he could possibly forget last Friday. It had been almost seventy-two hours so far, and the images were still seared into his brain like some kind of movie stuck on continuous replay.

"Well, I need to talk. You can just listen if you want." Even though she was shorter and thinner than her partner, it was easy for Olivia to back Elliot into a wall, trapping him there and leaning in slightly. She was close, but not uncomfortably close. At least, Elliot didn't feel uncomfortable until he remembered what she wanted to talk about. "Last Friday was..."

Several words came to mind for Elliot, but he decided that 'wrong', 'incredibly hot', and 'oh my god' were probably not appropriate responses.

"An accident," Olivia finished. "I know you didn't mean it."

Elliot tried not to groan. If he was being honest, he'd half-suspected what was going on inside Olivia's apartment when he decided to use his spare key. Although his partner didn't know it, Elliot had harbored a crush - well, more than a crush, but that wasn't important - on Olivia ever since they started working together. Looking back on it now, his plan seemed childish and petty. He knew Olivia had a date lined up for Friday night and purposely tried to spoil it a little by walking in with some extra paperwork. Whether he made the visit out of jealousy or protectiveness didn't matter anymore, because he couldn't un-see what he had seen.

Elliot had opened the door silently enough, but Olivia and her startlingly familiar date wouldn't have heard a Mack truck pummeling into the apartment. He watched for a moment in awe and terror – who wouldn't have? – as Alex Cabot, his ADA and apparently the new person in Olivia's life that she had been too shy to discuss, strained against the handcuffs that had her pinned against the kitchen pantry, arms pulled taut over her head. She had been completely naked, her pale skin broken by red marks, head thrown back, eyes closed, chest heaving. As his eyes roamed over her body, Elliot saw the reason for her pleasurable distress. Olivia was holding a small vibrator against her, which was clearly the source of the blonde's desperate moans.

"Not yet, Alex," his partner had said softly, moving the vibrator up to rub against a stiffened nipple, and Alex seemed more than grateful for the alleviated pressure against her center.

Her blue eyes fluttered back to the brunette in front of her, and she breathed heavily as she spoke. "Olivia, please," she begged, whimpering as the vibrator moved to her other nipple, buzzing softly against it.

"You are determined to keep breaking the rules tonight, Alex," Olivia responded. She leaned over and nibbled against the attorney's neck as she moved the instrument back down against Alex's clit, eliciting a deep groan as she continued her torture.

Elliot had watched, amazed, as Olivia commanded her girlfriend, bringing her again and again to the brink of orgasm, and then slowly denying her. The detective was clad only in a black bra and a set of black silk panties, something that Elliot had imagined her in on many occasions when he allowed himself to go there, but fantasy didn't even begin to compare to reality. Her body was just as toned as it was in his private thoughts, and as she moved to Alex's side, he caught sight of her taut stomach. He swallowed, his own breath hitching. How much longer would he be able to watch without giving himself away? It was already getting harder and harder to suppress his own groans, and his pants were quickly growing tighter.

He shifted, attempting to avert his gaze, if only for a moment, and turn his thoughts to something less arousing, but the keys that he held in his hand slipped, clanging noisily to the floor. His stomach dropped, as well as his arousal, and he felt his heart threaten to beat out of his chest as the two women looked over at him through the opening to the kitchen where he stood, caught.

There was shouting, screaming, and frantic, stuttered explanations on everyone's part. Elliot had known beforehand that Olivia was an "equal opportunity lover", but he hadn't considered the fact that she might be dating, or at least sleeping with, their ADA. Alex had never popped up on his gaydar, limited as it was. Sure, she and Olivia fought all the time, exchanging heated words and equally heated looks, but he never imagined that their passionate arguments might carry over into passionate sex.

He had made his escape as quickly as possible, calling Cragen on the way home despite the new laws about cell phone usage while driving and requested the weekend off for some urgent family business. The Captain, probably thinking that Elliot had screwed up things with his wife and needed some time to make it up to her, approved the emergency use of personal days without asking any questions. That was his one lucky break.

Elliot's weekend with Kathy and the kids was not as restful and mind numbing as he hoped. He had played the part of the doting father and husband, and his family was thrilled to have him all to themselves for two entire days, but his mind wasn't all there. He kept flashing back to that apartment, to Olivia in a black set of lingerie, shoulders held confidently back and chin tilted up as she worked Alex's poor, straining body to the brink. He and Kathy made love several times, and Elliot had hoped that would make him forget, but it seemed to worsen the problem. It was like when someone told you not to think about elephants - suddenly, elephants were all you could think of. He wanted to talk to someone, but he couldn't tell Kathy about this. Normally, he would go to Olivia with his problems, but that was impossible too, since she WAS the problem this time.

And now, his problem was staring him square in the face, cornering him against the wall and forcing him to confront what he had seen.

"Listen, can't we just forget this? We're partners, it didn't mean anything, and we need to have each other's backs on the job..."

Olivia snorted. "Come on, El, I saw how you were looking at us." The detective purposely left out the fact that she had also seen his rather obvious erection to spare his feelings. He couldn't help the fact that he was rather "gifted" in that department or that he had walked in on something so unbelievably hot... and she knew it was hot. Being with Alex in any situation automatically made it hot. Olivia had learned that from personal experience. "To forget something like that, you'd either have to be a saint or gay, and I know neither of those labels apply to you."

Well, at least Olivia didn't seem to be pissed at him, Elliot thought. In fact, she was acting almost cheerful, although she still seemed determined to have this awkward conversation one way or another. "Besides, Alex and I talked about it afterwards. She thought it was kind of exciting."

Elliot's jaw dropped. Exciting? Alex thought that shouting and scrambling for her clothes on the floor was exciting? Because she sure hadn't seemed 'excited' last Friday. He would have gone with 'pissed' or 'mortified' instead. "Excited is about the last word I would have used to describe her," he said flatly. Once she caught a glimpse of Elliot lurking in the entryway, that is. Prior to his discovery, the ADA had been pretty damned excitable thanks to Olivia's skilled touch. Elliot tried to shake the image from his mind and focus on the chaos that had ensued afterward instead.

Olivia sighed, recalling the scene and how she hadn't been exactly sure who to comfort first, her partner or the ADA. "Well, she was certainly excited enough that we continued after you left..."

It was exactly the image that Elliot was hoping his partner wouldn't conjure up in his brain. The thought of Olivia and the ADA touching each other, nipping, sucking, torturing one another with pleasure... he groaned, turning and continuing his path toward the crib, only realizing his mistake at the last minute. The last thing he needed right now was to be locked in a small, private space with the woman who had piqued his sexual imagination for years.

Olivia followed him inside, shutting the door behind her, and crossed her arms over her chest. She knew they were broaching unchartered territory, but after coaxing Alex to multiple orgasms that night, the mere thought of someone watching the two of them sent a pang of pleasure shooting below her belly, and she had been desperate for that same level of voyeurism ever since. It might as well be Elliot. After all, she trusted him as her partner and her best friend, but more importantly, she trusted him to keep to the strict rules that Alex had insisted upon relaying to her once they'd gotten around to discussing a more formal invitation. She watched as Elliot ran a nervous hand over his close-cropped hair and gave her a look she couldn't quite read as she took a seat on a nearby bunk.

"Look. We can just pretend it never happened." The lie slipped easily from his lips, but he was not certain that he'd ever be able to forget that image of Olivia and her perfect, firm body.

"That's not exactly where I was going."

He narrowed his eyes, not quite sure where his partner was going, but more than certain he wanted to prolong the conversation long enough to find out. "Liv... what are you getting at?"

She walked the few steps over toward the bunk where he sat, and gave him a slightly crooked, beseeching smile. She shook off her hesitation. After all, it was only Elliot. "We want to invite you to watch. Formally." Elliot wasn't sure when he began breathing again, but he blinked, shaking himself out of his stupor as Olivia bared down on him with a pair of concerned eyes. "El?"

He swallowed and stood, walking past her, thankful for the long overcoat he wore, which he pulled closed as he paced away from his partner. "Uh – I – um - " he truly had not expected such an invitation, no matter how many times he'd imagined seeing Olivia naked in his head. "I – I - " he paused, turning to look at her, and was almost embarrassed by the grin she wore. "What?" he asked defensively.

Her grin widened, and she walked over to him, giving him a playful shove on the shoulder. "It's just sex, Elliot. Get it together. If anything, you should be thanking me for giving you the opportunity to even be in the same room with Alex Cabot."

Elliot swallowed again. He had always kept his crush secret, and clearly his partner had no idea she was the one that sent his mind reeling. Alex Cabot certainly sent his body reeling, for sure, but Olivia captured something inside him, a feeling that he didn't always want to acknowledge, but nonetheless felt deeply. "Okay," he said, nodding slowly. "Sounds fun." He cringed at his understatement. But how was one supposed to accept such an offer? He would have to brush up on his threesome porn. His face flushed at the thought of it, and he wished his partner would leave him alone for a moment.

Olivia, however, had other plans. "Why don't we grab a drink at O'Malley's and go over some ground rules?" she said.

Ground rules? There were rules to worry about with this kind of thing? He merely nodded, wondering just how far in over his head he was getting.

"Great," she said, giving him a smile as she opened the door, walking back out towards the emptying precinct. He followed her, almost surprised that his legs held him up. He needed a glass of cold water, not a beer. As Olivia stopped by her desk to grab her coat, the door to Cragen's office opened and out walked the last woman Elliot needed to see at that particular moment.

"Thanks for filing that motion, Alex," Cragen said, giving her a serious nod. The blonde's eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of Elliot, her face flushing behind her studious glasses.

"Hey, Alex," Olivia said, trying to smooth over the pause as the ADA and her partner stared at each other. She was pleased to notice that Alex had kept her scarf on even while indoors. Obviously, makeup hadn't been enough to cover the bruises. After Elliot left on Friday night and Alex calmed down enough to assess her situation, her fear at being caught had turned into undeniable arousal. The detective couldn't help letting her gaze linger on Alex's body as she remembered just how desperate for attention the attorney had been. Alex had spent most of the weekend being bent over a variety of surfaces and burying her head between Olivia's thighs.

"Detective Benson." Alex nodded, and for the first time, Elliot thought he could hear a secret fondness as she addressed his partner. Then again, maybe he was just imagining things. Now, if only he could stop imagining other things... He pulled his overcoat tighter around himself out of habit.

"We're headed to O'Malley's. You want to come with?"

"Yes," Alex blurted out a little too quickly. It was the first time Elliot could remember seeing Alex stumble over her words. Well, aside from Friday... Obviously, she knew what was about to happen and wanted to be there. Elliot sighed. He supposed a private, relaxing few drinks with Olivia while talking about threesomes was too much to hope for. Oh well. At least there was no way he could possibly mistake it for a date, not when both of the women present could probably rip off his balls if they wanted. He was just a poor, confused married man that had fallen in way over his head. No way was he prepared for this.

...

Chapter Two:

Once the three of them found a booth at the back of O'Malley's, Olivia made sure to get their drinks as quickly as possible. Alex usually wasn't fond of beer, but she poured herself a glass as soon as the pitcher arrived, eager to get some liquid courage in her. Elliot followed her example. He was definitely going to need alcohol in his system to handle this conversation. He searched his brain for some prior knowledge that might help him, but came up empty. The poor detective had no frame of reference for this. His porn habit had decreased exponentially over the years, mostly due to his job but also because of Kathy's influence, but from what he could remember, the guy usually just showed up and got busy. There were no stilted conversations beforehand, and there was definitely no frightened shrieking. Honestly, he thought Alex might have ruptured one of his eardrums.

"You can't touch her," Alex said abruptly to Elliot as she set her glass down on the table.

"What?" Elliot's eyebrows lowered in confusion, his forehead wrinkling. He had no idea what the ADA was talking about.

"Olivia. You can't touch her. That's Rule Number One." A look of such possessiveness and jealousy flashed across Alex's face that Elliot was momentarily taken aback. Olivia might have been completely oblivious to his crush, but obviously Alex sensed something was there, because her blue eyes were boring into him like nails from a nail gun, pinning him to the back of his seat.

"O-okay," he stuttered, unsure whether to be relieved or extremely disappointed by this rule. He was, after all, married. He had promised Kathy to be faithful when they were both just eighteen. Despite his feelings for Olivia, touching her sexually would clearly cross over the line between a stupefied male watching two hot lesbians and adultery. Privately, he knew his wife would probably freak out if she knew what had happened - and what was going to happen - but Elliot felt like a car that had lost traction on a patch of ice. He could only keep barreling forward towards his doom.

Olivia watched her girlfriend take another long sip of her beer, her eyes never leaving Elliot's, but instead boring the poor man with the same vigor she utilized on a perp in the interrogation room. She spoke up, if only to relieve some of the tension. "I think that's an across-the-board rule. No touching either of us. Just watching." After all, Elliot was her best friend and her partner. No need to make a complicated situation even worse.

Elliot nodded again, crumpling a napkin nervously in his fist. This sounded easy enough. All he had to do was watch. He needed to get himself together, but instead he took another long sip of his beer.

Alex spoke again. "If you need to relieve some... tension," she said, "I ask that you do it discreetly."

Olivia almost choked on her beer, but covered her mouth with her hand. Alex had been especially adamant about minimizing any male anatomy in the room, although it hadn't bothered Olivia as much. She thought it next to torture to ask Elliot to watch them without touching himself, and had eventually convinced Alex to be a little nicer to their potential guest. She looked over at Elliot, who nodded back at Alex. "Of course," he said amiably.

"And when the scene is over, you can have a few minutes to compose yourself, but you'll be leaving soon after, got it?"

Elliot raised his eyebrows. He felt as if he should institute some rules of his own, just to reclaim his manhood from the icy attorney that sat across from him, but of course, he had no idea what those would be. "Got it."

"And needless to say, whatever happens in our bedroom..." She thought for a moment, her mind flashing back to the myriad locations Olivia had employed over their weekend of lovemaking. "Or wherever this happens," she corrected, "stays there. Don't mention it to anyone else." She stared at him, waiting for a response.

"Right," he stammered. "Of course. I'm just here to serve you two." He winced internally at the comment, but washed it down with another sip of his drink. "So, um, when is this taking place?"

Alex glanced over at Olivia, who raised an eyebrow. Elliot looked back and forth between the two of them. No matter how Olivia dominated her sexually, it was clear Alex Cabot was used to getting what she wanted outside of the bedroom. He waited for the blonde to respond.

"Depends. You're a family man, what nights are you free?"

The question stung, and Elliot bet that the ADA had intended it to. He steeled his gaze and felt a sudden need to reassert his own dominance. He was a man, and he had full control over his own sexual desires, if not always his schedule. "Friday night." Kathy and the kids would be visiting her mother upstate, and he had to work over the weekend. Elliot silently breathed a sigh of relief at his own good fortune, and didn't bother hiding his smile.

Olivia raised her glass, afraid that if her girlfriend continued with her ground rules, they'd lose their guest before they even started. "Cheers," she said, waiting for Elliot to put his pint up, followed slowly by Alex. The three clinked their glasses and then stared at each other over their mugs. It was too bad they hadn't bothered establishing ground rules for ending their own awkward happy hour as well, Elliot thought.

The detective covered his smile by taking another celebratory sip of his beer. He couldn't quite believe what had just happened. The two hottest women he knew had asked him to be their third. He wasn't conceited enough to think that it was because they were attracted to him, but it was still a big deal. Olivia had asked him. She trusted him. She wanted him there. The reality of his situation was beginning to sink in, and his palms started to sweat. When he set his glass down, he couldn't wipe the stupid grin off his face and hoped it wasn't too noticeable.

That was when Elliot realized it was only Monday, and he was going to have to wait until Friday for this thing to happen. Part of him was relieved, since he felt like a high school student that needed to cram for a big test, but the other part of him was disappointed. That was five whole days for him to be tortured by memories and fantasies.

"So, how long have you two been, you know..." he found himself asking. He was grateful that they were at O'Malley's, because the chatter filled some of the awkward pauses.

"A while," Olivia said. "We were going to tell you soon, but you kind of blew the surprise."

"I'd say I got a pretty big surprise," Elliot muttered, mostly to himself. Alex gave a very un-ladylike snort of amusement and reached for Olivia's beer, since she had drained her own. While she and Elliot had been drinking heavily so far to steady their nerves, Olivia's glass was mostly full. Elliot guessed that she was going to be their designated driver for the night.

"It's gotten serious," Olivia continued. "We're keeping it under wraps, but we're..."

"Exclusive," Alex interrupted, reaching out to grip Olivia's hand with long, pale fingers.

Elliot held up his hands, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. He didn't want anything to go wrong now that he had been given this sliver of a chance. "Hey, I don't have a problem with it. As long as both of you are happy, I'm happy."

"I figured that out last Friday," Olivia joked, trying to break the tension and directing her gaze at Elliot's crotch. Instead of making things even more strained, all three of them ended up laughing.

Perhaps this wouldn't be a huge disaster after all, Elliot thought. Alex and Olivia were both smiling, and everyone was much more relaxed, including him. Elliot gave them a genuine smile in return. Oh man... he wasn't going to tell, but if they had any idea what was going on, Munch and Fin would be so jealous. In honor of the poor schmucks, Elliot took another long swig of beer. Maybe this could work.

...

Unfortunately, Friday came a lot faster than Elliot had hoped. Between a case at work and Kathy and the kids at home, he barely had time to breathe during the week, much less prepare himself for his night. When Munch had asked him earlier if he wanted to celebrate the end of the week with a pint, it had taken all of his goodwill to hide his smirk and take a rain check. His wife, however, was proving to be much more difficult to elude.

"There's more than enough pot roast for tonight and tomorrow night," she said as Elliot lugged a duffel bag towards the packed SUV. How his family managed to need so much luggage for a simple weekend trip, he'd never know.

"That's great, Kath, thanks."

She gave him an appraising eye as he slammed the trunk closed. "What did you tell me you were doing tonight?" she asked.

Elliot shrugged, hoping the flush he felt creeping along his jaw line wasn't visible. He wasn't cheating. He was merely taking in a live show. "Uh, Munch and Fin and I are just going to grab a couple of pints and watch the game," he replied, giving her a smile.

Kathy nodded, a knowing glint in her eyes. "A man's fantasy, if I ever heard one." Elliot laughed nervously, and she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips before climbing into the driver's seat. Elliot leaned his head in and gave a wave to the kids, who all had their heads buried in some electronic gadget or another.

"Bye guys," he said with a wave.

"Bye," they said in unison, barely turning their heads towards him.

"Be good, dear," Kathy said with a smile, and he watched as she backed gingerly out of the driveway, leaving him behind. He stood in the driveway until they were well out of sight before rushing back into the house. He had no idea what one wore to a threesome, but he was guessing nothing that he had was quite appropriate. Elliot's wardrobe went straight from work attire to ratty baseball tees, with nothing much else in between. He poured himself a scotch, hoping it would help soothe his nerves, and sat down in front of his computer, finally hoping to cram in the research he'd been meaning to do all week. However, nothing he saw on the screen was quite like what he'd seen the weekend before. And he was more than certain that the porn playing out in front of him didn't subscribe to the same rules that Alex had laid out for him.

He showered and dressed, opting for work a pair of loose work trousers and a shirt that Kathy always told him showed off his muscular arms and took one last look at himself in the mirror. He looked good. Of course, he didn't host any delusions of grandeur about his night. He guessed he wouldn't be Alex or Olivia's center of attention, but that didn't bother him much. He looked down at his watch and was disheartened to see that it was still early. He sighed, pouring himself another scotch, and sat down at his computer once again. His mind, however, kept trailing to the thought of Olivia. He wondered how she was preparing for their night.

Thoughts of Olivia only made his nerves worse, and he realized that he had to calm down before he arrived at her apartment. He looked at the scotch he had just poured, frowned, and dumped it without drinking, mourning the loss but realizing that he wouldn't get to see anything if he crashed his car on the way there. Then again, with how shaken up he was, he might not need the alcohol's help to accomplish that. He felt like a seventeen year old kid getting ready to pick up his prom date, secretly hoping that he would get lucky in the back seat or a cheap motel room.

"This is stupid," he said to himself, not expecting a response from the empty house. "I'm a Detective. I used to be in the Marines. I'm not scared of two women." But that was a lie. His feelings for Olivia made her intimidating, and Alex... Alex was just plain terrifying on her own. Elliot suddenly realized that he had been lying a lot lately, to Olivia, to Kathy, and even to himself. He felt a twinge of guilt and remorse, but he steadfastly ignored it. Alex had made it very clear that he wasn't allowed to touch either of them. That meant it wasn't cheating, right?

Elliot headed back into the kitchen and re-poured the scotch that he had wasted. He would just have to take the subway to Olivia's place, because he needed another drink, damn it.

...

Chapter Three:

When Elliot arrived at Olivia's apartment, he lingered outside her building for several seconds, shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot. What was he supposed to say when he saw them? "Hi" seemed kind of underwhelming, but he couldn't think of anything else. The detective knew that he was over thinking this, but very few guys had ever been offered such a great opportunity with no strings attached. He didn't want to blow it, especially where Olivia was concerned. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her, or Alex for that matter. Alex could be very scary when she felt like it.

'Get it together, Stabler,' he told himself, hoping that a mental pep talk would snap him back to reality. Part of him was still convinced that this was some kind of weird dream.

Finally, he realized that pacing around on the street made him look like a crazy person. He desperately hoped that Olivia and Alex weren't watching him from the window. He took the plunge, heading up the four flights of stairs he had taken more times than he could remember and stopping in front of Apartment 4D. He was slightly out of breath, but not from the climb. He raised his hand to knock or ring the bell, but paused when he saw a note on the door in Alex's distinctive, lefthanded writing. While Olivia's was neat and legible, especially compared with his, Alex took handwriting to an art form. He didn't know anyone else that could make such smooth letters with a cheap ballpoint pen. The note said: 'The door is unlocked. Come in.'

Olivia heard the front door shut and felt Alex tense just slightly at the sound of Elliot's footsteps. A trail of handwritten notes would lead him back to the bedroom, where Olivia and Alex had already started setting the mood for themselves. Alex had gotten her fill of awkward discussions at the bar and wanted to keep conversation to a minimum this time. Based on the way Elliot had fidgeted during the ground rules discussion, Olivia surmised he wouldn't have a problem skipping formal pleasantries.

The detective ran her fingers gently up and down Alex's arms, easing the tension in her shoulders, and felt the attorney melt back into their kiss. She let her tongue fully explore Alex's mouth, and was just nibbling on her lower lip when the door clicked open. She moved her lips towards the attorney's neck, and gave Elliot an inviting smile as he lumbered towards the chair that she had placed strategically in front of the bed. He sat, giving her a somewhat misplaced wave, and she smiled inwardly. It was adorable in a nervous, awkward sort of way. Leaning back, she let her eyes connect with Alex's, searching for the tacit consent that she always waited for before beginning a scene.

Olivia moved around to Alex's back, pulling the blonde against her and in effect displaying her squarely for Elliot's viewing pleasure. She placed a few lingering kisses on the back of her neck before grazing her teeth over the fading reminders of their previous sessions. Her hands roamed over Alex's torso, letting her fingers run under the hem of her shirt, which she pulled slowly over the attorney's head. Olivia caught Elliot's eye as he swallowed and leaned forward slightly in his chair. Just the presence of someone else in the room ignited a possessive streak in her, and she pulled Alex close, letting her hands knead the pert, lace-covered breasts.

Alex attempted to reach a hand up to Olivia's chin as she turned her head, seeking another kiss, but the detective gripped her arms, pulling them behind her back into her normally submissive position.

"Behave," Olivia said, her tone authoritative as she turned Alex's head back to face their visitor. "We have a guest."

The attorney felt a pleasurable pang between her thighs as she locked eyes with Elliot before averting her gaze to the floor. She had thought Olivia would play the scene a little softer for Elliot's sake, but it was clear from he detective's rough treatment of Alex's breasts that she was intent on demonstrating her ownership.

Another rough pinch to her nipple, lingering long enough to elicit a soft moan, and Olivia's hands drifted further down the blonde's body, unbuttoning her jeans but not yet pulling them off. Instead, she slipped her fingers inside, letting them rub along the telltale wet patch on the attorney's panties. She couldn't wait to reveal her girlfriend, baring her inch by very slow inch.

"You're awfully excited," Olivia said, although she kept her eyes focused on Elliot's stunned face as she spoke to Alex. "I guess having a friend here to watch got you a little revved up, didn't it, pet?"

"Yes," Alex groaned in response, letting her head fall back against her detective's shoulder, baring her throat and pushing out her breasts, inviting Olivia to touch and Elliot to look. She let out a disappointed mewl when Olivia's hand pulled away from its warm, snug home between her legs. Even though the touch had only been through her panties, its absence caused a deep ache inside of her. Her inner walls pulsed with jealousy as Olivia's fingers trailed up her stomach, slipping beneath the underwire of her bra and pinching her nipples.

"Address me properly," Olivia said, pinching Alex's left nipple between the first knuckles of her thumb and forefinger.

"Yes, Ma'am. I am excited."

Elliot could only stare at them, his mouth completely dry as all the blood rushed away from his head and... Wow, this was unbelievably sexy. Even though Olivia was still dressed in a tank top and soft cotton lounge pants, face free of makeup, she still looked so gorgeous that it made Elliot's chest hurt. And Alex – he didn't have romantic feelings for her, but he couldn't deny that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

"I don't want Elliot to feel neglected, sweetie," Olivia cooed, nibbling the soft place behind Alex's ear that she had discovered through diligent exploration. "Keep your eyes on him, all right?"

Elliot was sure that his face was bright red as Alex lifted her head up from its resting place on Olivia's shoulder and forced herself to look at him. Her lips were swollen from Olivia's kisses and her lingerie-clad breasts, one of them cupped in Olivia's hand beneath the lace, rose and fell as she gasped for breath. Her hips shifted uncomfortably where she sat in the cradle of Olivia's legs, seeking some kind of relief, but Olivia held her firmly in place.

"So," Olivia said, abandoning Alex's neck and looking at Elliot, inviting him into the intimate scene that she and Alex had started, "do you like what you see so far? She's beautiful, isn't she?"

Beautiful didn't begin to describe it, but Elliot's brain was in no position to be picky about word choice. He simply nodded. "Yes. You're both beautiful."

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him, but let her hands continue their course under Alex's bra. "Wait until you see her beg." She unclasped the attorney's bra with a deft touch that Elliot only wished he possessed, and the blonde let it fall gracefully down her arms before placing her hands once again behind her back. Olivia may have said something, but as far as Elliot was concerned, nothing else existed beyond Alex's bare torso. Her breasts were pale, but full, and her nipples were stiffened into hard, pink buds. Elliot shifted, but there was no hiding his erection, which strained against his trousers, only growing as Olivia resumed Alex's torture by kneading her breasts roughly. Elliot's chest was rising just as fast as Alex's was, and the sound of her moan only sent another throb through his groin.

Olivia gently pushed Alex off her lap, making sure to keep a commanding hand on her back, turning the attorney to face her. She pressed her fingers against the waistband of her jeans and pulled down slowly, certain that Elliot would appreciate the view she was giving him. Alex could feel Elliot's eyes on her backside as she stepped out of the garment, revealing s pair of panties that matched the bra that had been discarded moments before. Olivia stood, walking around to Alex's side and pressing her torso down to the bed, forcing her to bend over and in turn exposing the wet patch of fabric between her legs. "Ah," Olivia said, letting a finger press the fabric into the attorney's folds, smirking as she caught a glimpse of Elliot's expression. She was pleased to see the tough Marine breathing heavily from his chair. "We should probably take these off before they get any wetter."

She gave Alex's center a playful slap, then slipped the silk garment slowly down, peeling it away from her wet folds. Alex stepped out of them, keeping her legs straight and poised, her glistening sex displayed fully for Elliot, who watched as Olivia plucked the panties from the floor and tossed them casually over towards him.

Elliot gripped the panties tight in his hands, staring down at them with wide eyes, and then glancing back up to Alex. What he could see of her body was trembling, but she was also showing undeniable signs of arousal. The lips of her sex were a soft pink, swollen and coated with moisture that made them shimmer. He watched, enraptured, as Olivia coaxed Alex's legs even farther apart, her fingers trailing between the attorney's velvety folds and dipping just slightly into her entrance.

"My Alex isn't hard to please," she said, noticing the way her lover's pupils dilated. Alex could feel Elliot's eyes burning in to her, and the heat of his gaze, combined with Olivia's touch and the way that she was referring to Alex like a possession, coaxed another flood of wetness from her. She squirmed, flinching as Olivia aimed a warning slap at her right cheek. "She loves having my fingers inside her, my tongue... our strap-on..." Elliot's eyes widened at that. He hadn't thought about a strap-on. There hadn't been any of those in the threesome porn he viewed. He guessed it was a lesbian thing.

"She also has a penchant for disobeying my rules." Olivia brought her hand down on the other side this time, making Alex yelp. Olivia gripped the hair at the back of her head, making sure to pull close to the roots, and brought Alex's head up with a sharp jerk, forcing the slender blonde's spine to arch and putting her on even more prominent display. "I don't believe I released you from silence yet."

Elliot had definitely not expected the scene to go anything like this. He knew Olivia was the "guy" or the "top", sort of, but he hadn't expected her to be so dominating, so controlling, so possessive. To his surprise and fear, he found it arousing. Even though his fantasies were pretty vanilla by most people's standards and he usually imagined himself as the aggressor, he definitely wouldn't be complaining if he were in Alex's position, either.

As he watched, Olivia began sliding her fingers through Alex's wetness again, circling her opening before thrusting two fingers home and curling them sharply. Alex's entire body seized up and shivered wildly, but she didn't make a sound aside from her heavy breathing. Elliot felt an answering twitch run along his shaft, and he struggled to take in air. His pants were starting to feel very constricting, and he reluctantly set his treasured panties on his lap, undoing the first button of his trousers. Olivia caught his eye and nodded, letting him know that it was all right since Alex was facing the other way. Her girlfriend had made it pretty clear that, although the idea of someone being aroused enough to masturbate during their scene was exciting, she had absolutely no desire to see it happen, especially if their watcher was male. Olivia didn't understand her aversion, but she had gotten most of her teasing out during last weekend's sex marathon.

Olivia let her fingers dip casually back into Alex's core, pumping slowly several times before removing them completely, listening for a frustrated moan from her girlfriend. The blonde remained obediently quiet, but her hips instinctively pushed back, attempting to find some source of penetration. Olivia gave her a quick smack, two blows in immediate succession on her bared ass. The attorney contained her yelp, hoping that by obeying the rules, Olivia would shorten her torment and return her fingers to her throbbing core.

Olivia used her hand, which was still twined in the attorney's hair, to turn her around, allowing Elliot a frontal view of her now very aroused girlfriend. Despite her arousal, Alex almost rolled her eyes at the sight of Elliot touching himself, but she caught herself as Olivia shot her a warning look. Alex knew the poor man had to relieve himself of some of the tension clearly racking his body, but she had sworn off the male anatomy long ago, and generally had no desire to welcome it back into her bedroom. "Be nice," Olivia hissed, taking a nipple in her hand and pushing Alex to her knees.

Elliot wondered what his partner had up her sleeve, but his breath caught in his throat as she lifted her shirt over her shoulders, tossing it to the floor. Her pants followed, and suddenly he was staring full on at a naked Olivia Benson. He'd imagined the perfection of her body before, but her full, round breasts, taut stomach, and the small patch of curls at her center was better than anything he could have ever concocted in his own mind. He swallowed, a sweat suddenly breaking out on his brow, and he took his hand away from his lap, if only to try and calm the excitement that pulsed through him.

Olivia sat, spreading her legs, and curled her finger towards Alex. "Come here," she said, and the blonde immediately obeyed, shifting over on her knees and looked up imploringly at her girlfriend, but not before sneaking a look at Olivia's glistening lips. The detective's hand was immediately on her chin, raising her head roughly. "I want you to demonstrate how talented that tongue of yours is," she said.

The ADA obediently dipped her head, eagerly kissing and nipping her way up her lover's toned thighs. She groaned low in the back of her throat as her tongue finally swept through Olivia's folds, her eyelashes lowering as she buried herself in the warmth, the smell, the taste and comfort of Olivia Benson. There was nothing she enjoyed more than giving Olivia pleasure this way, and she gave thanks every day that she was the only one who was permitted to touch the gorgeous body in front of her. Even Elliot, Olivia's partner closest friend, and whom Alex knew was half in love with her, didn't have that privilege. No fantasy could ever compare to the reality.

Olivia caressed the back of Alex's head, her hips rocking forward as the attorney began suckling gently against her hard point, forming a seal with her lips and trying to coax more aggressive sounds and movements from the detective. She saw her poor partner's eyes fly wildly from her bare breasts to Alex's head bobbing between her legs, unable to decide what to focus on. Elliot looked completely overwhelmed, and she chuckled to herself. She could only imagine the thoughts that were going through his mind. Even though it was a little cruel, it aroused her to think of Elliot fantasizing about Alex's warm lips and tongue wrapped around him when she was the only one who would ever experience the bliss that was Alex Cabot's mouth. If that made her a sadist, so be it.

She couldn't have been more wrong. The poor, smitten former Marine was imagining a completely different scenario. The vision before him was unbelievably sexy, and he was far from complaining, but in his secret heart of hearts, he wanted to be the one between Olivia's legs in any way possible. Alex Cabot was one lucky woman, and he couldn't help but be a little envious 'Get a grip. You're married and she's with Alex. Just enjoy the show,' he told himself, but the sounds Olivia was making made his breath hitch in his broad chest.

Olivia had no pity for him, and decided a little teasing was in order. "Alex is so good at this," she growled, tightening her grip in Alex's fair hair and causing her to whimper with a mixture of pleasure and pain. "The best part is that she's desperate for it... I've never met a woman that enjoys putting her mouth to work so much." Alex felt her face heat up, and was momentarily grateful that Elliot couldn't see it, but she was sure that he could see moisture running down her thighs. Olivia knew her too well. Nothing turned Alex on more than getting to taste Olivia. Something about the act just sent her body into sexual overdrive.

The fact that the detective was so good at keeping her control, even as Alex suckled her most sensitive spot, not only unnerved the blonde, but made her work that much harder. Despite her Mistress' calm demeanor, the attorney had become skilled at reading the signs of her partner's body. The hitch of breath, the tightening of her thigh muscles as Alex's tongue worked her closer to the brink of an orgasm. Alex always enjoyed prolonging the detective's pleasure as much as she could when she had her in such a position. After all, it was really the only power she was allowed to exert over her unless they switched, and she liked being able to tease her girlfriend with her probing tongue.

She also loved it when Olivia placed a firm hand in her hair, giving it a yank in warning, which let Alex know she had teased too much. The ADA moaned, locking her mouth over Olivia's swollen bud, and let the detective writhe against her tongue. At that moment, she almost forgot about their visitor, and focused solely on the sounds of pleasure coming from Olivia.

Elliot watched, riveted, as Olivia tossed her head back, one hand still powerfully entwined in Alex's hair, the other clutching the comforter as her orgasm shivered through her. Her moan was feminine, in stark contrast with the commanding nature she used on her lover, and once again Elliot had to work to restrain himself, but the urge to come alongside his partner struck something inside him, and he suddenly wondered if watching such a scene was more than mere sexual torture.

Olivia regained her composure quickly, her dark eyes resuming their powerful gaze as she pulled Alex's head away from her and gave Elliot a small, satisfied smile. "She's quite a talent, no?" she asked, pulling Alex to her feet and pulling her in for a rough kiss, the blonde's body absolutely pliant under her touch. Olivia pulled away, and pushed the lean body onto the bed, making sure that Elliot still had a perfect view of her girlfriend's profile. She gave Elliot another colluding look as she climbed onto the bed, straddling Alex's hips, letting her own wet center graze the attorney's pelvis. "But," she said, letting her body cover Alex's, their nipples brushing against each other as she held the prone woman's arms above her head, pinning them to the bed. "There's nothing quite like being inside her."

Alex groaned at the suggestive words, and didn't even complain when Olivia squeezed her wrists tighter to show her displeasure. She wanted Olivia inside her as soon and as deep as possible. But her lover's touch served to remind the ADA that she wasn't in control. Olivia was the only one who could decide when she was allowed to come. "I don't let her touch herself unless I'm there," Olivia continued, pausing to lower her lips and take Alex's mouth in a deep, probing kiss that made all three people in the room stop breathing. She turned her head ever so slightly to look at Elliot and smirked. "That way she's always ready for me."

Elliot's own urge to touch himself was impossible to resist, and he slipped his hand back beneath his boxers, unable to stifle a grunt as he found his grip.

Pinned to the bed, Alex was practically dying. Olivia's pelvis kept grinding against her lower belly, trailing wetness across her overheated skin. Her Mistress had already gotten one orgasm, and although her eyes were fixed on Olivia, she could tell that even Elliot was getting something out of the moment. That left her as the only one without any kind of physical contact, and it was killing her. Since she couldn't use her words, she begged with her eyes, making the softest of sounds in her throat and looking up at Olivia with the most sorrowful, needy expression she could form. She couldn't remember ever being so turned on in her life. Olivia's possessiveness, her dominance, their audience, all of it was making her head swim and her body pound with every heartbeat.

Her pet's pleading had the desired effect, and instead of punishing her, Olivia let go of Alex's wrists. "Keep those there. Don't move, don't cover yourself, and don't come until I say."

Alex shivered as Olivia scraped the ball of her shoulder with her teeth, sucking hard to make sure that she left a visible mark. She pulled away and studied her work, satisfied that anyone who looked at Alex for the next several days would know that she was taken. Slowly, Olivia's hand crept down the blonde's body, toying with her breasts and plucking lazily at her nipples, seemingly in no hurry to ease the ache between Alex's thighs. Finally, after drawing a series of teasing lines back and forth between Alex's jutting hipbones, she cupped her lover's wetness with her right hand, making the ADA cry out with a mixture of relief and unfulfilled desire.

Elliot tried to stifle another groan, but it was as if his partner had just as much dominion over him as she did with the trembling attorney, and he wanted nothing more than to have Olivia pinning him down with such control and authoritative lust. Despite Olivia's outstanding performance, he saw the way she looked at Alex. Behind the dark, passionate eyes there lay a deep tenderness, and Elliot knew that somehow the detective made up for every one of her pinches, nips, and bites with a loving caress. He was hungry for just such a touch, but the realization that he would never get it almost sent his erection lilting southward, and he quickly averted his thoughts, choosing instead to focus on Alex's obedient hands, which balled the comforter in her fists as Olivia continued her slow, subtle torture down her body. Elliot was more than aware that Alex was drenched with need, and he wondered how she managed to handle such a slow burn. Of course, it didn't look like his partner gave her much choice.

"Alex," the brunette said, delving a hand in between Alex's legs and running the moisture along her inner thighs. "I suggest you keep those pretty eyes on me. Otherwise..." she dipped two fingers back in the attorney's core, and noted with pleasure that her girlfriend would be requiring at least another finger. "... how will I ever know to let you come?" She settled in on her knees and let her hand begin a steady, but extremely slow pace. She kept her ears alert for any sounds from their visitor, wondering if he would keep pace with her as well, but she let the thought drift from her mind as Alex began writhing her hips over the detective's hand, silently begging for a faster thrust.

Olivia rewarded her, sliding in another finger, but not before leaning forward and capturing a nipple with her teeth, only releasing it after a prolonged whimper. "Poor Alex. She only knows pleasure..." she thrust harder into the attorney's core, and glanced at Elliot before leaning back over the blonde. "... with a little pain mixed in. Three fingers is a little too much for her." She let her teeth grip the opposite breast, giving it the same tortuous treatment.

Content that Alex was now quivering underneath her, Olivia curled her fingers just slightly, enough so that the blue eyes that stared obediently up at her widened, and her lips parted. The detective knew Alex would wait patiently for her permission to come, but that soon her need would outweigh her docility and she would be unable to hold back her verbal pleas for release. She wanted that. She wanted to hear Alex beg, and lately had been stalling the attorney's pleasure longer and longer, just so that she could be reminded that the beautiful, writhing woman beneath her touch was all hers.

Of course, Alex was already too far gone, and with another curl of the detective's fingers and a timely touch to her swollen clit, she bucked her hips and beseeched her mistress with a pair of pleading eyes. "Olivia... please," she said, her eyes fluttering briefly as the expert fingers manipulated her. "Please... please may I come?"

Olivia smiled, reserving her glance for her partner rather than her girlfriend. "I love it when she gets to this point of need," she said, sliding her free hand upwards and slipping her fingers into the attorney's mouth. "She becomes so pliable."

Alex's mouth sucking diligently on Olivia's probing fingers almost undid him, and he let out another groan, his chest heaving. He felt his own body building up for release, but attempted to keep pace with Olivia. The last thing he needed was to come early and ruin the scene with an untimely moan.

As Olivia's fingers returned to pluck Alex's stiffened nipple, the blonde was once again unable to keep her pleas from being heard. At this point, they almost seemed meditative, as if it gave her some distraction from the mounting pleasure between her legs. "Please," she repeated softly, as her body tensed. Olivia ran a gentle, caressing hand over the trembling skin.

"I don't know," she said. "Why don't we let our guest have the pleasure of deciding?" She looked over at Elliot with a questioning glance, not bothering to peer down at the way his hand sped up in his trousers. The look had the affect of dismantling Elliot completely, and he stilled his hand momentarily, caught in her eyes. He wanted that dark, passionate glance to be for him, and not for the writhing, whimpering attorney beneath her. Instead, he simply nodded.

"Yes," he croaked.

Olivia didn't waste any more time. She thrust back inside of her captive lover with three fingers, curling them forward sharply and running her thumb over the tip of Alex's clit, rolling it in harsh circles. "Come for me." That was all she needed to say. Alex's hips lifted off the bed, arching endlessly towards the ripples that pulsed through her lower belly and sent warmth shooting throughout her entire body. It was so pleasurable that it hurt, but Alex was so desperate for release that she didn't care.

"Liv... Liv - Liv!"

And it was the desperate way Alex said Olivia's name that triggered Elliot's release. He thrust upwards into his own hand, his mind filled with everything that was Olivia. Later, he would look back on that moment and analyze it until he thought himself in circles. He would wonder whether it was a betrayal, a disappointment, or a dream come true. It was probably all of those things.

The former Marine kept his eyes open, watching the scene before him as he came, but it wasn't until his vision cleared that he realized Alex was still going. She continued to buck wildly against Olivia's hand, crying out her need as she bore down on the fingers that filled her, stretching her until it burned. It hurt, but it was wonderful at the same time. "Please... more, please... Oh God, don't stop..."

Olivia's harshness softened for a moment, and she gave her lover a tender smile. Even though she was supposed to be in charge of this scene, she had a large soft spot for Alex when she was this desperate, and found it difficult to resist her. She turned to Elliot and gave him a wide grin. "Do you know what the best part of lesbian sex is, partner?"

"No," he wheezed. His orgasm had knocked all the wind out of his chest.

"Multiple orgasms."

Olivia used her knee to thrust up even deeper inside of Alex, completely impaling her, and the ADA shouted as she fell over the edge a second time, sobbing out her pleasure. She didn't care about the fact that Elliot was watching her in such a vulnerable moment. When she remembered her audience through the overwhelming blaze of Olivia's touch, it only made her come harder. Elliot felt himself twitch in his hand and groaned with a mixture of pleasure and pain. His body was responding to Alex's orgasm, but the poor man had nothing left to give.

Alex tensed with the last throes of her orgasm before collapsing back onto the bed, her chest still heaving. Olivia slipped her fingers out of her, sliding them up the attorney's flushed body and leaving a visible reminder of the her double pleasure. She ran a tender hand along Alex's jaw line and leaned over her, taking her mouth in an intimate kiss. The blonde responded by wrapping her arms around the detective's toned shoulders, allowing her fingernails to rake over her back. Elliot had never felt more like a third wheel in his life. He reached for the small towel that lay on the arm of his chair, another aforethought from Alex for which he was now grateful. As he cleaned himself off, he felt a distinct sadness creep over him and he suddenly wanted to escape the two women that still lay clutching each other with a sweet, intimate desperation. He felt like a intruder.

He zipped his pants and quietly crept out of the room, certain that the attorney would appreciate his discreet exit. As he walked through the apartment, a place where he had spent many an evening talking through a case, catching a game, or even confessing some of his deepest fears about being a cop and a father, he wondered exactly where he would go from here. He glanced around. Was it cheap to leave a note? What the hell kind of etiquette was required of him?

"Elliot."

He turned, surprised to see Olivia coming after him. She had thrown on a robe, but the healthy glow of sex and her mussed hair sent another pang of pleasure through him.

"How ya doing?"

He gave her as casual of a smile as he could muster. "Pretty damn good." He cleared his throat. "You and Cabot put on quite a fantastic fucking show." His face reddened at the unintentional literalness of his comment. He could see Olivia try to read him, and he gave her what he hoped was a convincing smile.

"Good," she said, flashing her own crooked grin. "Because judging by Alex's reaction, we'll be doing it again, I'm sure." She glanced towards the door, seemingly unaware of the nervous gulp he took. "You'll lock the door on your way out? I'm going to shower." And with that, she was gone, leaving him alone.

...

Chapter Four:

Elliot stumbled through the rest of the weekend like a zombie. Every time he looked at his partner - Olivia working at her desk, Olivia on her cell phone, Olivia interrogating a suspect, Olivia sitting in the passenger's seat of the squad car - his mind flashed back to what he had seen. Whenever he got a full glimpse of Olivia's body as she stood or walked, her clothes seemed to melt away as he remembered the color of her skin, the movement of muscle underneath, the sound of her voice as Alex's head worked between her legs. Olivia didn't act any differently towards him, for which he was grateful. If anything, she was even warmer and friendlier than usual. Whenever she caught him staring for a moment too long, she just smiled softly to herself and slowly turned away.

The situation wasn't any better with Alex. The ADA's cold demeanor remained mostly unchanged, but even though Elliot didn't have a full-blown crush on Alex, she was a very attractive woman. A very attractive woman that he had seen naked. A very attractive woman that he had seen naked and begging underneath his partner, who also happened to be a very attractive woman. It was very difficult to separate Alex's work persona from the submissive, aroused pet he had watched Olivia so expertly manipulate. Then again, he supposed if anyone could take the stick out of Cabot's ass, Olivia was the woman for the job.

Things came to a head when Elliot arrived at the attorney's office door late Sunday evening. He was slightly nervous, since it was the first time he had been alone with Alex since their - could it really be called a threesome if he had only been an observer? He wasn't sure what the proper terminology was. He tried to concentrate on the trial prep that he had scheduled with Alex instead. He would be testifying for her on Tuesday in the abduction and murder trial of a twelve year old girl - there, that did it. All sexy thoughts officially gone and dead. He rapped on the door.

"Come in."

Elliot stepped in and mumbled a greeting to the ADA, who was bent over some paperwork and had her hair up in a chignon that was still mostly in place even though it was the end of the day. Since her hair was up, it was easy for him to make out the bruises that marred her neck. Unfortunately, that sent his thoughts right back to where they had been before. Alex noticed him staring and sighed, getting up from her desk and walking over to the detective. He looked down and noticed that she wasn't wearing her shoes. Elliot couldn't blame her. If he was a girl, he would have kicked off his high heels under his desk at the first opportunity too.

"Are you okay, Elliot?" she asked, looking up at him with a concerned expression.

Elliot was surprised at her use of his first name. They were friends, or at least they had been friends before Friday night. Now he had no clue what they were, but she still usually addressed him as Detective Stabler at work. Elliot was an improvement. He reached behind his head and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Okay? What do you mean?"

Alex sighed and pulled close to him, close enough that he could feel the warmth of her body, and reached up to straighten his tie. The strangely intimate gesture made his eyebrows lift. "Look, I know that you're in love with Olivia. Everybody knows it except her."

Elliot's face paled and he opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"I really enjoyed myself on Friday, but if you can't handle this, there's no shame in backing out. You probably feel like you've opened Pandora's box. Take a few days and think about what you want. All I ask is that you don't take it out on Liv."

"It's impossible not to love her a little bit," Elliot admitted, realizing to his surprise that he had found a confidant. "I think everyone that's met her loses a piece of their heart to her. But I would never - I mean... Just because I love her, doesn't mean I've stopped loving my wife either. And I wouldn't try and, you know, take her from you..."

Alex gave him a sad smile and patted his chest below his newly straightened tie and collar. "I know, Elliot. Are you able to go over your testimony now?"

Elliot let out a quiet sigh of relief and pushed his muddled thoughts to the back of his mind, where he usually tried to hide them. "Yeah. I'm ready now."

...

Elliot let his car door shut with a slam and paused outside his house, taking in the tiny yard, the wholesome front porch. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that the man that painted those shutters would have spent last weekend watching two beautiful women sexually torture each other. He felt a familiar tightness in his groin, which had happened more and more over the past week every time he thought about his experience. Luckily, his wife had reaped the benefits of his increased desire, however misplaced it had been.

He swung his bag over his shoulder and walked inside, ignoring the chipped top front step, a casualty of last winter's frost. The house was eerily quiet. "Kath?" he called out, dropping his bag next to a soccer ball and a pair of cleats, remnants of his daughter's weekly soccer practice.

"In here!" she called from the living room, and he followed her voice, surprised to see her sitting on the couch, her feet up, a book in her lap.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Pizza with Jill."

Elliot let out a pleased sigh. "Remind me to tell your sister how much I value and appreciate her."

Kathy laughed. "You're also paying for the dinner. I sent her with our credit card."

Elliot shrugged, slumping onto the couch next to her. "It's a worthwhile sacrifice," he said, grinning and leaning further into her as he let his hand run up her thigh.

Kathy looked at him, raising an eyebrow, and shifted her leg. "What's that shiteating grin you're wearing? It's the same one you had last night. And the night before."

Elliot gave an innocent shrug. "I just think we could use our time wisely," he said.

Kathy smiled, but gave a playful roll of her eyes. "My dear," she said, pushing his hand away from her thigh, "I appreciate how... attentive you've been for the past four days, but I am using my time very wisely. When's the last time I've been able to relax and pick up a good book?"

Elliot pursed his lips as he leaned back into the couch, resting his head resignedly against the cushion. "I think I'll go watch some television," he said, pushing himself up off the couch.

Kathy gestured toward the flat screen that hung on the wall. "You can watch it in here, I don't mind," she said, flipping her book back open.

Elliot shook his head. "No, it's fine, hon. I'll watch upstairs." He walked towards the hallway, but turned to look back at her. "Kath, when did you tell me you were visiting your mom again? Aren't you and Jill taking the kids out there the weekend after next?'

She nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Did you get the weekend off?"

Elliot shook his head, feigning remorse, but he still felt a little guilt at his betrayal. "No, Cragen can't spare me. Uh, Olivia will actually be out of town, so I'll need to cover." Why had he added that last bit? His guilt was getting to him? But guilt over what? He hadn't technically done anything wrong, right? And why was he risking so much, when he wasn't even certain when Alex and Olivia would invite him back again?

She gave him an odd look, but turned her attention back down to her book. "We'll miss you," she said.

Elliot frowned, but turned, trudging up the stairs towards the bedroom, lost in his own thoughts. Kathy let her eyes follow him out of the room, and she felt something shift inside her, some sort of alarm of women's intuition. Her husband had been more sexually forward over the past week than he had in months, but he hadn't let her inside his mind at all, spending many pensive moments lost in his own thoughts. She tried to push any suspicions she had out of her mind, and opened her book again, much preferring the notion of fictionalized drama than anything that hit too close to home.

...

"Wow, I feel like we haven't had a moment to breathe all week," Olivia said, slumping with exhaustion on the couch beside her blonde girlfriend. Alex's mouth was currently stuffed with Chinese food, but she gave Olivia a smile as best she could before swallowing. "Don't forget to chew," the detective quipped, squeezing Alex's hand. "You don't have arraignments in five minutes, so it wouldn't kill you to slow down and take your time."

Alex rolled her eyes at the chastisement, but chewed her food more thoroughly. Normally, she had impeccable table manners, but when she was eating from a carton in front of the television in her own living room, she reverted to old habits. She had spent too many years sneaking lunches in between court appearances at the DA's office. "You like everything slow," Alex shot back. "Sometimes, if you're slow, you miss out."

"You weren't complaining on Friday."

The lighthearted teasing ended abruptly, and both of them looked at each other for a moment, searching for any signs of regret. After Elliot had made his escape, Olivia and Alex had continued their scene for another hour, enjoying several more orgasms followed by several hours of blissful, uninterrupted sleep. It had been just what they both needed. After that, work had picked up, and moments together had been few and far between for the past few days.

"Alex, are you okay with what happened?"

The ADA nodded a little too quickly. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be? You saw how my body reacted."

"The body and the mind are two different things, sweetheart," Olivia reminded her, stealing Alex's chopsticks and reaching into her carton for a mouthful of food. Alex slapped her hands away.

"Hey, you already ate, leave my food alone!"

"I'm still hungry," Olivia pouted. "But seriously... no regrets?"

Alex did have one regret, but since it was nothing that could be resolved by talking to Olivia, she pushed it aside. Having an audience had made everything between them even more intense, and she knew that they could trust Elliot to be discreet, but... the look in his eyes as he had seen Olivia naked for the first time, coming against Alex's tongue... that look still haunted her. She was having trouble forgetting it. "No regrets," she said.

"That's good," Olivia said, sliding closer to her and placing a light kiss on the side of her neck. "Because I really enjoyed showing you off." She gingerly plucked the nearly empty Chinese food container from Alex's fingers. "In fact, I'd like to do it again."

Alex had expected as much, and had even welcomed the idea of another voyeur session, as long as she was sure Elliot could handle himself. Olivia's hand tenderly caressed her jaw line, moving down to trace her collar bone. "Let's face it. We both know I went pretty easy on you for his sake." She let her hand move further, cupping a braless breast through the blonde's thin t-shirt. "I think it's time he saw what I can really do to you."

The blonde's nipples responded immediately to Olivia's touch, but as the detective had mentioned earlier, that wasn't always an indication of what was going on in her mind. She grabbed her girlfriend's hand and pulled it away from her, bringing it to her lips and kissing the very fingers that could reduce her to mush at any given second. "Olivia," she said, staring into the brown eyes that she had come to trust so much. "You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?"

Olivia paused, seemingly caught off guard, but her eyes were warm and comforting. "Why don't you show me?" she asked, leaning back on the couch and pulling the blonde on top of her. Alex relished the strong arms that wrapped around her back as she pressed her lips against the detective's, concentrating solely on the touch of Olivia's hands, for the moment not possessive and not controlling, but simply warm, safe, and only for her.

Slowly, they stripped each other of their clothes, appreciating each newly revealed patch of bare skin as it was uncovered with eyes, hands, and lips. When Olivia removed her shirt, Alex was momentarily stunned by just how beautiful her lover's breasts were, even though she had seen them more times than she could count. The sight of them always made her pause and catch her breath. They were larger than hers, but firm and set high on her chest, the tips hardening to stiff points that she ached to wrap her lips around. That was one of the benefits of being on top - she had full access to every part of Olivia's body right when she wanted it.

The detective let out a soft, content moan as Alex began a string of kisses down her neck, nuzzling her shoulders and nibbling there for just a moment before sliding down further. When she felt Alex's warm mouth envelop her left nipple and start to pull, she wrapped an appreciative hand in her girlfriend's blonde hair, not controlling or pushing, just tenderly encouraging her. Alex growled slightly around the tip of her breast and worried it gently with her teeth, tugging slightly before switching over to the right side. Olivia's hips canted forward instinctively, and she gasped as she found purchase against Alex's thigh.

"Pants," she said huskily, abandoning her grip on Alex's hair to try and work the rest of her clothes off. Alex was reluctant to leave Olivia's breasts at first, but finally relented when she realized that having Olivia naked beneath her would open up even more opportunities later. That didn't stop her from returning to where she had left off as soon as Olivia settled back down, however. She would not be put off easily.

Olivia breathed deeply and tilted her head back on the arm of the couch, enjoying the attention, but disappointed that Alex still wasn't naked. "Yours too?" she asked softly, giving the ADA her best puppy dog look and stroking the curve of her side with one hand. Alex smiled softly. She could never resist Olivia when she asked for things so sweetly. Besides, the idea of full skin-on-skin contact made her heart pound. It would be only them - just her and Olivia - showing all of their love and appreciation with no barriers.

She eased off the detective, leaning back to give herself enough room to maneuver off the loose yoga pants she wore, and wasted little time in returning back to her rightful place between Olivia's legs. She pressed a bare thigh into her girlfriend's center, and smiled faintly at the wetness that she felt there as she nipped her way up the brunette's stomach, the muscles fluttering under the caress of her lips. Her path continued, over the soft rising and falling of the detective's breaths, where Alex captured her mouth once again, sliding her tongue inside and exploring fully. Her body melted into Olivia's, and the detective let a pair of strong hands run down the blonde's back.

Alex ended the kiss, but didn't break contact as she moved her lips across the detective's neck, suckling just hard enough to begin to leave her own mark, but she felt Olivia's hand move gently towards her hair, pulling her back up to her lips. Alex smiled into the kiss. Olivia may have loved to mark her own territory, but she had never let Alex return the favor, which, secretly, the attorney didn't mind. Although, she did like to think about branding her girlfriend just for Elliot's sake: a clear reminder that she and Olivia belonged to each other, and no one else. Alex let her hands knead the brunette's full breasts, and they exchanged reciprocating moans through their kiss, Olivia's extending just a little as the attorney rolled the hard brown nipples between her fingers. She returned her mouth to one nipple, grazing her teeth across it before flicking it with her tongue, and felt Olivia's arousal increase with the writhing of her hips.

She snuck a glance up at the brunette, whose eyes had fluttered shut in appreciation of the attorney's touch. She let her hand dance down the detective's torso and slide between her legs, testing her center, which quickly coated the blonde's fingers with her arousal. Alex took it as a sign, and let her mouth follow the same course, slowly kissing her way down Olivia's stomach, letting her tongue delve over the dip in her pelvis as she continued towards her destination. As much as Alex liked to tease, especially when she knew her tongue was one of her best weapons, she wanted tonight to be about listening and connection, and from what she could tell, the brunette's body was clearly ready for her.

"Aleeex," Olivia pleaded, drawing out the word as she gripped her lover's shoulders, trying to steady herself. She cried out when Alex's teeth grazed her hipbone, and then apologized by placing a circle of warm, open-mouthed kisses around it. "Gah! Please touch me..."

"But I am touching you," the ADA purred, resting her chin between Olivia's hips as she stared up into her detective's eyes. "You are so beautiful," she said without thinking, but even though the words were impulsive, she meant them with her whole heart. Olivia smiled and parted her lips to say that she thought Alex was the most beautiful woman in the world, but a moan came out instead as the attorney settled between her thighs and dragged her tongue torturously through her folds.

Her breathing picked up as Alex covered every inch of her with slow, broad sweeps of her tongue , and the feelings were so intense that Olivia was forced to shut her eyes for a moment. "Oh Goddd..." She loved and hated it at the same time when Alex did this, touching everything but not giving any part of her enough attention to help her release. She managed to open her eyes through sheer willpower, not wanting to miss the sight of Alex's head between her legs. The lawyer's soft blonde hair was spread over her inner thighs and a pair of wicked blue eyes stared up at her, letting Olivia know just how much Alex enjoyed this.

As Alex's tongue began teasing Olivia's opening, both women let out a muffled sigh of appreciation. Olivia swallowed the sound, and Alex's moan vibrated along her lover's core. When she decided that Olivia was ready, Alex pushed as much of her tongue inside of the brunette as she could. Normally, the sooner she wrapped her lips around Olivia's clit and the harder she sucked, the faster she got off, but the ADA didn't want things to be fast this time. This kind of touch would drive Olivia crazy without giving her enough to make her come. Besides, it was Alex's absolute favorite thing to do when she used her mouth on Olivia... the taste was indescribably wonderful.

"Baby, stop - teasing -" Olivia couldn't tear her eyes away from the beautiful woman that was slowly driving her insane. Even though she usually took control during times like this, having Alex's tongue inside of her made her come undone. Alex thought about giving her lover some relief, but decided there wasn't quite enough desperation in Olivia's voice yet. She continued her slow pace, running her hands along the detective's warm inner thighs and pushing her tongue deeper. Her heartbeat sped up as Olivia's fingers wove through her hair, pulling her closer, craving more contact. Then again, maybe she was pretty desperate...

"Alex... please..." They were words the attorney didn't always hear, their scenes usually ended with her uttering such requests instead, but the few times that Olivia did resort to begging seemed to ignite something in Alex that only wanted to please her lover, to coax her into supreme pleasure. She let her tongue slide deftly up to the detective's severely neglected clit, which was swollen with an unmet need. She gingery flicked it with her tongue, resulting in a powerful hiss from her girlfriend at the mere contact. She smiled against Olivia, fully aware that the brunette could tell how much she was enjoying the slow teasing.

"Baby..." the pleas kept coming, and Alex peeked up. Olivia's eyes were on her, but they were soft, silently begging for release. Although Alex was fully enjoying herself, and could probably kneel between the detective's legs for probably much longer than Olivia could tolerate, she let her lips lock fully onto Olivia's clit, suckling her into her mouth, and letting the detective's writhing hips do most of the work for her. Alex let her tongue flit across the swollen bud, applying pressure when needed, until she felt Olivia beginning to lose control.

She looked up again, wanting to relish the sight of her girlfriend, head thrown back, enjoying every moment of Alex's devoted attention, but as she let her eyes roam upward, they connected directly with Olivia's, and she let out a surprised, fulfilled moan of her own as she coaxed the brunette to orgasm. Olivia moaned as her pleasure shuddered through her, and Alex felt the familiar buck of her hips against her mouth. Still, she held on, hoping to wring every shiver of goodness out of her detective. She didn't let go until the toned hips had stilled against her tongue and the only remaining movement was the up and down motion of Olivia's breasts as her breathing calmed. Even then, Alex still slid her tongue lovingly up and down the brunette's folds, not wanting the moment to be over.

Olivia cupped the back of the blonde's head, looking down at her with a smile. "Come here," she said, pulling the attorney back up her body. Alex followed the detective's lead, but took the time to press small, chaste kisses up her stomach, between her breasts, and finally ending with the detective's lips, allowing her girlfriend to taste herself on the attorney's tongue. Alex fought to push down the sudden emotions that grew in her chest, but she couldn't stop the words from spilling from her mouth and into Olivia's. "I love you," she whispered. "That's all any of this is ever about. I just love you."

Olivia stared back at her, not exactly sure where the strong emotion was coming from, but needing it just as much. She placed a kiss on Alex's temple, wrapping her arms protectively around the blonde. The blue eyes that stared back at her were on fire with a need that she couldn't place. "Alex," she began, running a finger down the attorney's chest, in between her breasts, and circling back up. "I'm connected to you. Only you."

Alex was so relieved to hear those words that she had to sniff back tears. The confident ADA rarely allowed herself to show such strong emotions, even to Olivia, but she couldn't help herself. Something about what they had done - not just tonight, but during their scene in front of Elliot - made her feel incredibly vulnerable, and almost a little regretful. "Say it again," she asked, her voice breaking as she stared up into Olivia's affectionate but slightly confused brown eyes.

"I'm connected to you. Only you. I love you, Alex Cabot."

"No one else?"

"No one else." Olivia thought she might have an idea what this was about. "Honey, Elliot doesn't matter... I mean, he matters. He's my partner and my best friend, but he won't come between us, I promise. He's just living every guy's fantasy."

Olivia's attempt at humor didn't help ease Alex's stormy emotions, but she gave the detective a short, hoarse laugh to try and deceive Olivia into thinking that she was all right. Part of her had enjoyed their scene very much, but the conversation she had with Elliot in her office was bothering her. She thought she had been able to handle this, but what if she was wrong? Carefully, making sure that she wasn't being too rough, Alex cupped her hand between Olivia's legs, squeezing gently because she knew how sensitive her lover became sometimes after orgasm. "Our bodies are only for each other, right? Next time... Next time won't be any different?"

"It won't be any different. Elliot won't be touching you -"

"- Or you," Alex interrupted, knowing that Olivia was completely missing the point. For such a brilliant detective, Olivia could be incredibly dense sometimes. She still had no idea that her own partner was in love with her.

"Or me," Olivia reassured her. "Baby, if you don't want to invite Elliot again, we won't. I thought you enjoyed it."

"I did," Alex said. Despite her many years as a lawyer, she had never known how a statement could be the absolute truth but also a horrible lie at the same time. "We don't have to cancel. Just promise me..."

Deciding that she wasn't going to get anything more out of Alex tonight, and wanting to reassure her girlfriend and recapture the intimate, loving connection they had shared just minutes before, Olivia wrapped her arms even more snugly around the ADA. "I promise. You're it for me, Alex Cabot. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried. Do you want us to move in together? My apartment's a little small, but we can look for a new one. Hell, I already bought a bigger bed because you kept bitching about how my old one was too small. Do you want a ring? It'll take me a while to save up three month's salary..."

Alex groaned with frustration. "That was not your proposal to me. I'm going to delete that entire speech from my brain." If there was a newspaper or magazine anywhere nearby, she would have rolled it up and swatted Olivia on the nose. "That was the least romantic talk about commitment we've ever had. Try again in a few months, and plan better. Making love to me won't get you everything you want."

"I think you underestimate my abilities, Counselor..." Olivia smirked, and Alex rolled her eyes. Obviously, her girlfriend had taken that as a challenge, and she wasn't sure whether that was good or bad news.

Olivia's smirk faded, and Alex saw something serious flash behind her eyes as the detective lifted her head up to capture a nipple with her tongue, raking it softly and nudging the bud back to hardness. For her part, she hadn't quite forgotten her girlfriend's nonromantic quips from a mere seconds earlier, but she sighed in response to Olivia's light touch anyway. Her sigh became a low growl as the brunette turned her attention to the opposite nipple, and she arched her spine into the touch.

It hadn't been Olivia's intention to cut their conversation short, but she couldn't resist with Alex's pale, perfect breasts hanging over her. She pulled the blonde closer, taking as much of her breast as she could in her mouth before leaning up and pushing her gently back down on the other end of the couch, reversing their positions. Normally Alex's eyes would have been roving across the detective's toned body, reaching up to brush a nipple or running a hand across her inner thigh. Tonight, though, the blue eyes were staring right into Olivia, seeking not only release, but solace.

"I don't just love making love to you," she whispered. "I love everything about you." She leaned down, punctuating her words with kisses across the attorney's neck and collarbone, this time simply nursing the bruises that she's made earlier. "The way you fumble with your mother's ring on your finger when you're in deep thought. The way you insist on dabbing the grease off of your pizza with a napkin." She moved her kisses lower, nibbling around Alex's pert breast. "The way you insist on reading the Ethicist out loud from every Sunday's Times. Your insatiable love of chocolate." She trailed her mouth even lower, across the smooth stomach. "I love how compassionate you are. How unstoppable you are. How brilliant you are." Her lips moved across the surface of one thigh. "Most of all, I love how under that composed, determined shell..." Her lips grazed Alex's inner thigh, moving dangerously close to her core. "... there's a beautiful woman that simply melts when we're together." She closed her thoughts by pressing her mouth against the attorney's center, not breaking contact with Alex's soft blue eyes as she suckled softly, before letting her tongue roam lovingly up and down the blonde's folds.

Alex's breath caught in her throat, and she couldn't tell which was more overpowering: the swelling, hopeful feeling in her chest or the pleasurable throb below her pelvis. Rather than deliberate too hard, she simply smiled down at her girlfriend before tossing her head back, letting her body decide.

Usually, when Olivia made love to Alex, she used every skill in her repertoire to drive the blonde mad with desire. She bit, sucked, and rubbed just a little too hard, whispered just the right naughty suggestions in her ear to make her feel exposed and vulnerable and needy. This was different. It was a simple, tender exploration, almost like they were doing this for the first time. Whenever Olivia found a spot that made Alex shiver or a stroke that made her groan low in her chest, the detective felt a sweet thrill that she couldn't describe. All she wanted to do was please Alex and communicate her love through touch.

"I love you," Olivia said, pulling away for a moment before sucking the tip of Alex's clitoris between her lips and nursing there briefly. "Just you." She dug her fingernails just slightly into Alex's inner thighs, spreading them wider, exposing even more of the blonde to her intimate attentions. "Always."

It was that reassurance more than her girlfriend's touch that pushed Alex towards the brink, making her clutch the back of Olivia's head tight and rock her hips desperately to try and capture just another moment of the wonderful, warm feelings that Olivia always surrounded her with. The hole in her heart was filled, and she couldn't imagine feeling any closer to the gorgeous woman between her thighs or loving her more. "Love you," she panted as Olivia's tongue worked her higher and higher, lashing the hard bundle of nerves one moment and thrusting deep inside of her the next. There was no steady stroke or pull, and the variation was driving Alex crazy.

Satisfied that she had properly comforted the beautiful blonde, Olivia finally moved one of her hands between Alex's legs, gently working two fingers into her lover's heat and curling forwards to rub against the sensitive ridge inside of her. She was rewarded by a deep moan and a brief ripple across Alex's abdomen. With a contented sigh, Olivia dipped her head and returned her tongue to Alex's clit.

She applied pressure with her tongue as she continued to work her fingers inside the attorney, knowing that she was incredibly close. The moans became heavier, and Alex's breath came faster as she pushed her hips into Olivia's mouth, unable to help squeezing her thighs around her lover's head. Olivia slowed the motions of her tongue, lapping gently until the legs on either side of her head relaxed and the blonde's hips collapsed back against the couch.

"Jesus," Alex said, pulling the detective up by her shoulders. Olivia nuzzled her neck, leading a series of kisses over her jaw line and to her lips, both of their tastes mingling in their mouths. The detective broke the kiss and rested her head on the blonde's shoulder, allowing their bodies to relax together. Alex listened to their breathing, which was in sync some moments, and separate the next, and she smiled. Nothing else mattered.

...

Chapter Five:

"Elliot," Cragen called, gesturing to the detective from his office. "Want to come give me an update on the Malloy case?" Elliot nodded, snatching his notepad from his desk and glancing down at Olivia, who sat across from him, her head buried in a pile of paperwork. She had been sifting through paperwork for most of the afternoon, and their conversation had been minimal, which at least forced Elliot to focus on his own work. After she had caught him on their way in that morning and asked him when she and Alex could have him over again, he was barely able to contain his excitement. He had been waiting for that moment all week long. Even a late afternoon with his captain on a case that was quickly going nowhere couldn't bring him down. He practically whistled on his way into his boss' office.

Olivia barely registered that Elliot had walked away. She hated the paperwork part of her job the most, finding it tedious and not the least bit exciting. Or productive, for that matter. Every minute she spent at her desk was another minute she wasn't actively piecing together a crime. The sound of Elliot's ringing desk phone jarred her thinking, and she instinctively reached over and picked it up, a habit that she'd picked up after one too many annoying rings. "Benson," she said.

"Hi Olivia, it's Kathy. Elliot around?"

"He's in with the boss, Kathy. Want me to tell him you called?"

"If you don't mind. How've you been?"

"Can't complain. Nobody would listen if I did." She smiled into the phone. "How are the girls?"

"They're fine. We're all headed to visit my mother next weekend. She's getting older, and she's got that beautiful house, so we try to make as much time as possible. And where are you headed this weekend?"

"Absolutely nowhere. I'm working, actually."

"Oh? I thought Elliot mentioned he was covering for you this weekend." Her voice sounded confused, and somewhat flustered, and Olivia immediately backtracked, realizing her mistake. Or Elliot's mistake, that is.

"Oh, I believe Elliot is covering for me on Sunday, actually. I had to take a last minute day trip." She felt her face redden, both with shame and a gut-wrenching guilt. She hadn't expected to come face to face with the ramifications her invitations would have on Elliot's wife.

"Oh, okay." The voice was uncertain, but convincing enough. "Well, just tell him I called. Take care, Olivia."

"You too, Kathy." Olivia let the phone drop back into its holster, a mix of anger and remorse welling up in her chest. She had assumed Elliot would handle their situation in his own way, but she had at least expected him to eventually bring it up with Kathy. How, of course, she didn't know. She realized not every couple was as unique as she and Alex were. But still, did this mean Elliot was cheating? She raised her head as her partner waltzed out of Cragen's office, dropping his notepad onto his desk with a smile. The grin quickly faded, however, as he caught sight of Olivia's glare.

"What?" he asked.

"You didn't tell Kathy?"

He raised his eyebrows, surprised, but then his shoulders slumped and a look of defensiveness crossed his features. "What was I supposed to tell her, exactly?"

Olivia pursed her lips. He was right, she had absolutely no suggestions for how to broach such a subject, but still, she couldn't help the guilt that welled in her. She loved Elliot, and didn't want to see him wreck his relationship. "I don't know, something? Elliot..."

He sat down, leaning across his desk into her. "Olivia, we've set up boundaries. I'm doing nothing but observing, and no one's getting hurt," he whispered. "It just works better this way. Trust me."

Olivia stared at him for a moment, his blue eyes squinting towards her, and she couldn't help but nod. However Elliot wanted to deal with his own wife was his problem, not hers. Marriage wasn't something she pretended to know anything about, and she trusted Elliot. There was no way he'd intentionally hurt his wife. Not for her, at least. "Fine," she said. "Do it your way. But be careful. Not only for your sake, but for mine and Alex's, too."

When Alex emerged from Cragen's office a few minutes later, both of her detectives were immersed in paperwork. She smiled affectionately at them, her gaze lingering on Olivia's face a little longer, and sidled up carefully beside her desk. "Detective Benson, I don't suppose you have a moment?"

Olivia looked up at Alex, then back at Elliot. He waved her away and turned back to the files on his desk. "I can handle the phone if it rings. Go ahead."

"Your wish is my command. I might have more than a moment," Olivia said, her voice outwardly cheerful while her mind was slightly distracted. She was still thinking about her partner's deception. She knew Elliot wasn't intentionally trying to hurt Kathy, but the secrecy didn't sit well with her. Still, a few moments alone with Alex was never something to complain about. "I think Interrogation Room 2 is free," she offered, standing up and walking out of the bull pen. Alex walked alongside her, lengthening her stride even in high heels to match Olivia's pace.

"You seem a little off, Olivia," Alex said as they entered the interrogation room, leaning backwards and bracing her weight on the center table. "Is something the matter?" Olivia didn't feel like talking about it, and so she leaned forwards to plant a gentle kiss on her girlfriend's lips instead, causing the blonde's lashes to flutter as she closed her eyes. "That was very nice," she said when the detective pulled away, "but not the answer I was looking for."

Olivia sighed in resignation. "I can't put anything past you, can I, Cabot?" She covered Alex's hand with hers, pinning her against the table and giving her another quick peck. She knew it was a little risky to be sneaking kisses with Alex during work hours, but she couldn't resist the ADA's soft pink lips when they were so close to hers. "Elliot hasn't told his wife about us."

Alex instantly stood up straight, although she remained stuck between Olivia and the back of the table. "He hasn't? Didn't we make some kind of rule about that?"

"No," Olivia said, searching through her memory. "I think we just assumed that he would... he's a good guy, Alex. I'm sure he isn't intentionally deceiving her, right?"

"Of course not," Alex hurried to reassure her lover, unsure whether now was the right time to ruin the chivalrous image Olivia carried of her partner. The brunette was still painfully oblivious of Elliot's crush on her, and Alex was finding it difficult to be caught between the two of them. "His relationship is his business, I guess."

"But you'd tell me, you know... if someone invited you to be a third in their sexual encounter." Olivia suddenly realized with startling clarity that she would probably say no if Alex ever asked, and the realization surprised her. "You don't think we're ruining Elliot's marriage, are we?"

Alex decided not to say what was really on her mind. Elliot's marriage, in whatever state it was, had already been invaded by Olivia years ago, and it was far too late to repair the damage now. Only Elliot and Kathy could do that if and when they chose. She didn't want to get involved any further in this conversation. "Olivia, Elliot is a grown man who makes his own choices. What he chooses or doesn't choose to tell Kathy is his business. If you want to gently suggest that speaking with her is a good idea, or if you want to call this off, we can, but don't go in there with guns blazing and make demands."

"Should we call off this weekend?" Olivia asked, her answer to her own question more than apparent on her face.

Alex almost let out an amused laugh at Olivia's clear unwillingness to cancel their planned scene. "No," she said. "Although it may be time for another Rules Session. Elliot needs to understand that if anything goes wrong with our arrangement, he will be subject to some serious repercussion." She gave Olivia a serious stare, and pulled her hand from underneath her girlfriend's. "I've got a motion hearing to get to," she said, disappointment in her voice. She leaned in for one more kiss from the detective before turning towards the door. "Oh," she said, turning back to her. "No cop bar this time. I expect the two of you to take me someplace where I can at least get a decent glass of wine."

Olivia watched the blonde exit, not looking forward to returning to her paperwork.

...

True to Alex's request, Olivia suggested a brand new tapas bar for their joint happy hour rules session. As they walked towards a back table, Elliot knew he'd be spending much more money on a lot less alcohol. But, it was part of the sacrifice. He'd bend over backwards to please Alex as long as it kept him as their watcher. As the three settled in, Olivia excused herself, searching for the restroom.

Elliot took his chance. "I'll tell Kathy in my own time," he said, preempting the attorney. She gave him a surprised glance. "Please, Alex. I may be a man, but I've been married long enough to know when a woman is angry. Olivia told you about Kathy."

Alex's eyes studied him for a long moment, and he shifted uncomfortably. "I just don't understand why you would risk your marriage over this," she said. "Maybe we shouldn't have assumed, but Olivia and I both thought you would tell Kathy something, at least."

Elliot didn't have an answer, at least not one that he could readily acknowledge. He would risk anything for Olivia. It was reckless and stupid, but it was the truth. He might have been able to tell his wife had he been simply watching a stranger, or someone he was completely unattached to. But he was afraid that his wife would be able to see through him immediately. After all, Cabot had called him out right away.

"Elliot, are you sure you're doing this for the right reasons?"

He challenged her. "And what exactly are the right reasons? You'll have to let me in on the psychological morality of threesomes."

"It's not a threesome," she snapped back at him, her blue eyes on fire. "You merely watch, and appreciate, and that's as far as it goes. That's as far as it will ever go." There was no trace of Olivia's submissive pet in Alex's face now. The stark contrast made Elliot realize that Alex Cabot must trust him an awful lot to invite him in her bedroom, even just as an observer. She trusted him so much that she had allowed him to see her naked and vulnerable as she submitted to her lover. She held him in such high esteem that she had permitted him to see Olivia naked even though she knew about his strong feelings for her. Most impressive of all, Alex had let him watch Olivia climax, something he had imagined only in his most secret fantasies and something that he knew was intensely personal for her. Elliot finally understood why Alex was so upset with him. His bond of trust with Olivia had been reaffirmed many times during the job, and it was rock solid, but Alex's faith in him had never been tested, and he had weakened it by failing to tell Kathy. His honesty and reliability was the entire reason Alex and Olivia had invited him to watch them in the first place, aside from the fact that he had been at the right place at the right time.

"Do you still want me to come this weekend?" he asked softly.

Alex gave him another piercing look, but whatever she saw in him seemed to satisfy her, because she gave him a single, stiff nod. "I do. Just tread very carefully, Elliot. I won't put a deadline on this request, but if we're going to continue, you need to tell Kathy. She deserves to know. If you don't think you can do that, we can call this arrangement off and you can have some time to think about what you want in your marriage and your life. We won't think any less of you."

By we, both of them knew that Alex meant Olivia. Elliot tried to come up with a response, but there were too many to choose from. "I'll tell her after this weekend," he said, even though he had absolutely no clue how he was going to bring it up. Then he realized that Alex might be able to offer some female insight. "If Olivia came to you and told you that she had been watching another couple have sex, how would you want her to do it?"

"You mean, how could she do it and escape with her relationship in tact and the least amount of physical pain?"

Elliot shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah, that."

"Olivia never would have gotten involved with another person, even just to watch, without discussing it with me first. As you already know, Olivia and I are in a... special relationship that requires a lot of trust. We had several conversations about our sexual limits before we made love for the first time." The former marine was momentarily taken aback by the words 'made love', but he thought back to the scene he had witnessed and decided that there was no other way to describe what he had seen, all kinks aside. "We still have those conversations every time we share a new or difficult scene," Alex continued. "We checked in with each other before, during, and after the scene we shared with you because it was unexplored territory for us. You have to treat your relationship with your wife the same way. Before you tell her, why don't you ask her how she feels about the kind of scene we had? You'll get a better idea of what to say, and whether she will allow you to continue watching us, based on her answer."

The detective had never realized exactly how much talking went on in BDSM relationships before. He had come across the entire range of sexual behaviors during his years with SVU, but he hadn't stopped to consider all the planning that went in to non-vanilla sex. He had always assumed two (or more) people that wanted the same thing just got together and had at each other. Obviously it was a lot more complicated than he thought.

Before Elliot could respond, Olivia came back to the table. Seeing her partner's chastened look and Alex's blank expression, she realized that her girlfriend had already taken care of the most uncomfortable part of the evening. Olivia had planned to do it herself, but since Alex seemed to have things under control, she decided to take a different role and lighten the mood. "Hey guys, have they taken our order yet?"

"Not yet - oh, there's the waiter."

After all of them placed their orders, agreeing to mix-and-match several of their variety platters so that they could try as many different things as possible, Olivia pressed on Alex's foot underneath the table. She smiled when the ADA's foot nudged back. "I guess the first order of business is whether we're still on for this weekend." Looking back and forth for her answer, Olivia was pleased to see that Alex and Elliot had reached a truce. "The second order of business -"

"There's a list?" Elliot sputtered. He knew now that this kind of thing required planning in advance, but that didn't mean he was prepared to deal with an entire list.

"It's a short list," Olivia reassured him, clapping his shoulder jovially. "Alex and I know each other's limits, but we don't know yours. We just need to make sure that we don't do anything that sends you running for the hills."

Elliot seriously doubted that anything Olivia and Alex did in their bedroom would send him running, but then he thought about everything Alex had said and everything he had seen as an SVU detective. "You're not going to, like... pee on her or something, right? Because that would be gross - I mean... what you do is your business! But..."

Alex snorted. "No! Calm down, Elliot. The things Olivia and I do are pretty standard."

"Standard?" Elliot squeaked. He wouldn't call anything about what he had seen so far 'standard'. He could think of plenty more descriptive adjectives, though...

"Pretty standard in the kink community," Alex clarified. "For example, you saw Olivia spank me last time. Did that upset you?"

"Well, no..."

"Normally, Olivia is allowed to hit me with her hand, a belt, or a crop. Would that bother you?"

"I'm not sure," Elliot confessed. That hadn't been in any of the porn he studied from. He wasn't prepared!

Sensing her partner's nervousness, Olivia set down the glass of water that she had been sipping from and re-entered the conversation. "I always stay away from her face. I don't want people thinking I slap Alex around, and besides, I find it a little disrespectful."

"Okay," Elliot said, still unsure. A sudden image of Olivia in leather, trailing a crop along the line that divided her well-muscled abdomen, popped into his brain. "I don't think it would bother me," he added a little too quickly.

"This is exactly why communication is so important," Alex said, raising her voice enough to emphasize her point, but not enough to attract attention from any nearby patrons. "I'm sure you know what a Safe Word is, Elliot. Mine is Compos Mentis - of sound mind. Before next Friday, I think it would be wise for you to choose one of your own. That way, if anything you see makes you uncomfortable, we can redirect or end the scene."

Elliot liked the idea of having a little more control over the situation. It made him feel slightly less powerless. "All right."

"What about toys? Oh, here's our food."

The arrival of their dinner gave Elliot far too much time to consider what kind of 'toys' Olivia was talking about. She had mentioned a strap-on last time, but Elliot had little to no experience with that sort of thing, aside from one or two dildos he had bagged as evidence a couple of years ago. As he stared at his food, grateful for the interruption but not really hungry for food, he had a sudden, slightly unpleasant thought. He might be 'above average' in the size department, but knowing what he knew about Olivia now, it was probably very likely that his partner had a bigger cock than he did. The thought left Elliot stunned for the next fifteen minutes as Olivia and Alex sampled the many different appetizers.

...

Chapter Six

Elliot walked down the short hallway to 4D, expecting to see a note tucked into the door just like last time, but there was no communication to be found. He pursed his lips and rapped on the door, waiting nervously. Olivia swung it open, still dressed in the same clothes that she'd worn to work that day. Not that Elliot was complaining. The tight black trousers framed every inch of her lower body, leaving little to his imagination. Of course, after seeing her completely naked, there was little that could be left to his imagination.

"Did you get my text?" she asked, annoyance creeping into her voice.

He fished for his phone in his coat pocket, which he had avoided since Kathy left, not wanting to increase his guilt by seeing her name plastered across the screen. At least not before his time with Olivia and Alex was over. Then he would do some hard thinking about how to tell Kathy. Or at least maybe just ask for permission for the next invitation. By the look on Olivia's face, though, he wasn't certain he would be staying for very long.

"Come in," she said, motioning him inside. "Alex is just now leaving the office."

Elliot raised his eyebrows. "It's late. Something happen?"

Olivia mirrored his expression. "I thought you told her about Malloy's brother's incarceration as a juvenile? Didn't that come up when you met with her?"

Elliot shook his head. "No, I thought you told her."

"Well, I didn't. She just spent all afternoon brushing up for a motion hearing to disqualify him as a witness." She glanced down at her watch. "And she just spent the last hour being railed on by Donnelly."

Elliot felt a pang of disappointment. He wasn't worried about Cabot, she could handle herself in a lion's den, so he was certain she could handle whatever Donnelly dished out to her. Still, a tough day at work, especially because of him and Olivia, didn't quite make for a romantic evening. "Should I go?" he asked, his voice low with the fear of Olivia's answer.

Olivia shook her head. If anything, a rough day at work always made her girlfriend crave an extended scene. She just wasn't sure if Elliot was ready for it. "Did you come up with a safe word?" she asked, walking over and grabbing a beer for him from the refrigerator. She popped open a bottle for herself as well, and walked into the living room, expecting him to follow.

"Um, yeah," he said, taking a seat next to her on the couch. He suddenly realized how close they were, and thought about moving to the chair opposite them, but he couldn't bare to tear himself away from his partner. From where he sat, he could just catch her honeyed scent, and he took a sip of his beer before letting his safe word slip out into the open. "Semper fi." He glanced over at her. "It's an old Marines slogan."

Olivia gave him a sideways smile. "Trying to prove your manhood?"

He felt a blush creep into is cheeks, but tried to cover it by taking another long sip of his beer. He watched as Olivia did the same, still chuckling lightly under her breath, and he asked the question that he'd wondered ever since he caught the two women weeks earlier. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The dark eyes lost their sparkle for a moment as Olivia studied him, and she set her beer on the coffee table. "It was a lot to tell," she said. "Once things finally started moving between Alex and I... it just escalated so fast. I've never felt this way before about anyone."

The words hurt, and Elliot tried to soften their blow. "Well, she is beautiful," he replied.

Olivia shook her head. "It's more than that. Elliot, you have no idea how strong, how compassionate, how brilliant and caring that woman is. I feel so safe with her." She took a deep breath, and waited for her partner's reaction. She knew Alex didn't always exude sensitivity at the precinct, but that was just another example of the blonde's determination. At work, she cared only about doing the right thing. And Olivia secretly loved it when the ADA challenged them at the precinct.

Elliot let the next question slip from his lips, although he was more than sure he didn't want to hear the answer. "You love her?"

Olivia smiled. "How could I not?" She mistook his frown for something else, and turned her body to look at him, giving him her full attention. "Elliot," she said, brushing a hand over his arm. "I really didn't bring it up with you because I wasn't sure myself what was going on. We're incredibly close, but I wanted to respect Alex." She gave him a warm smile. "I would have told you eventually. You're my best friend."

Elliot washed away the lump in his throat with another cold swallow of beer. Olivia Benson would never be his. He had to accept that. He looked on the bright side. How many men were invited to watch their crushes have sex with their girlfriends? He would enjoy himself, and turn off his emotions for the rest of the evening. Tonight was about sex. Incredibly hot sex.

The two of them heard the door slam behind them, and the familiar sound of heels hitting the floor alerted them to Alex's presence. She walked briskly into the living room, her eyes tired but blazing, her blouse and skirt still impeccably adorning her perfect body. She peered down at Elliot, and he realized that the ADA didn't leave her work day at the office. She was angry. "What the hell were you trying to pull?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

Olivia sighed, leaning away from Elliot. He was a big boy, she would let him defend himself. He was used to doing it enough at the precinct. Meanwhile, she recognized all the signs of a tiring day at the office. Alex's hair was pulled into a makeshift bun, and the first two buttons of her blouse had already been released. Her bare foot tapped on the hardwood floor as she waited expectantly for Elliot's response. Whatever he said, Olivia was sure it would do nothing to assuage the ADA's temper. She had other plans for that.

"Alex, I assumed you knew already." He stole a glance at Olivia.

Alex caught the look, and was in no mood for the two detectives' loyalty games. "Well, I didn't. Maybe you and Olivia should focus more on doing your job rather than planning your next date." Her eyes flashed. She had planned on being home early, recreating the intro from their last scene, letting Elliot find her and her girlfriend already in the bedroom. Finding them in the living room, sitting next to each other as if sharing old secrets wasn't exactly how she preferred beginning. It stoked a stubborn streak inside her, and one that didn't go well with Olivia's domineering nature. It took a lot of trust to be so vulnerable, and the two of them sharing a drink before their scene, even though only as friends, whittled down some of that trust. And Olivia didn't seem to notice a thing wrong with it. She still had no clue the feelings Elliot harbored for her. Before she could rail on the former marine again, Olivia stood, raising her hands as if to calm the attorney.

"Alex, it was a simple miscommunication. We didn't mean to cause any trouble."

Elliot shook his head from the couch. "I'm sorry. I really did think you knew about the juvenile record." He set his beer back on the coffee table. "Look, I can go, if you want. You've had a rough day."

Alex pursed her lips, tossing her head for a moment. There was no way she was going to be the downer tonight. She took a deep breath, and looked back at Olivia, who stared at her with a pair of concerned, questioning eyes. She knew whatever decision she made, the detective would be supportive, but after seeing Elliot next to her on the couch, she suddenly craved her girlfriend's attention, and wanted to prove their connection once again.

"You sure?" Olivia whispered.

"Yes," she said, enjoying their private moment. She moved around the attorney, and stood in front of Elliot with her arms crossed over her chest. "You have a safe word?"

He nodded, swallowing. "Semper fi."

She rolled her eyes. "Always faithful. Trying to make yourself feel better, Elliot?"

She felt a round hand grab her hair, pulling her head back, and Olivia pressed against her back, whispering softly in her ear. "What did I tell you about being nice to our guest?" she asked, her voice exuding the very authority that Alex craved. Still, her docility wasn't exactly coming easily tonight, despite the tingle that ran through her spine as Olivia's breath tickled her ear. Alex glanced briefly down at Elliot, who was literally sitting on the edge of his seat, staring up at them, his mouth slack. Her hesitation was too much for girlfriend, however, and she felt the grip tighten in her hair.

"Seems as if Alex is intent on riding a stubborn streak tonight," she said, letting her teeth nibble on the lithe neck. She glanced down at Elliot, and gave him a smile. "Lucky you." She spun Alex around to face her, and claimed her lips in a searing, rough kiss, probing with her tongue until she felt the attorney melt against her. Only then did she pull away, giving the woman a dark gaze. "In the bedroom. Now. I want you stripped and ready for us in two minutes." She released the blonde, but not before giving one last nip to her lower lip.

Alex was not thrilled at the idea of leaving Elliot and Olivia alone together, and although she obeyed Olivia, she couldn't help showing her displeasure. As she walked towards the bedroom, she unbuttoned her shirt and peeled it off, tossing it carelessly onto the floor. Her bra followed, along with her skirt, and she finally shimmied out of her panties and stockings in the doorway to the bedroom. She smiled to herself, pleased with the way she had obeyed the literal words of Olivia's command while completely ignoring the spirit of the order. Olivia would definitely punish her for her insolence later, but she felt her transgression had been worth it.

Back in the living room, Olivia's eyes were burning with anger and lust. She looked down at her partner, who had turned to watch Alex leave the room with a flabbergasted expression on his face. Only when she was out of sight did he meet Olivia's gaze. "I'll have to punish her for that little display, Elliot," she said. "I need to know if you can handle that."

Elliot had no idea what Alex's "punishment" might entail, but there was no way he was backing out now, especially since this might be his last chance to watch Olivia and Alex together. "I have a safe word."

"We won't look down on you if you use it," Olivia promised. "And don't worry about stopping the scene, we'll just take it in another direction." She instinctively understood that her partner might hold back his discomfort because he didn't want to risk ending things prematurely.

"Think it's been two minutes yet?" Elliot asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"Yes, but I was planning to wait five. It never hurts to keep Alex needy."

"Olivia..." This time, Elliot's question was slightly more hesitant. "How are you going to punish her?"

His partner's lips curled in a seductive smile, and Elliot felt it pull directly at his groin. So far, he had been able to keep his body under control, even when Alex tossed aside her clothes, but that smile undid him and he felt himself harden inside his trousers. Olivia noticed and her smile grew even wider. She probably imagined that the thought of Alex being punished was what had caused Elliot's "reaction", but that couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, the idea of Olivia dominating Alex was incredibly erotic. Both of them were beautiful women. But the thing that affected him the most was simply Olivia, all of the extras aside.

To his surprise, horror, and intense pleasure, she leaned down and gave the bulge a friendly squeeze, whispering in his ear. "Keep that under control, Stabler, and you'll get a chance to see."

Elliot felt all the wind knocked out of him and remained, stunned, on the couch for several seconds, unable to move. Olivia chuckled low in her throat as she walked back to the bedroom with a sway in her hips, pausing to pick up the pair of panties that Alex had left in the doorway of the bedroom and balling them up in her fist. She had plans for those later.

She found Alex standing over the bed, running her fingers over a selection of their toys that she had taken the liberty of displaying along their bed. Olivia wasn't certain as to where this disobedience was coming from, but Alex had already earned her punishment. This was just egregious.

Alex picked up a vibrator as Elliot walked in behind Olivia, thankful that his chair was in the same place, offering a nice view of the show. He snuck over to it, sitting down and watching as the attorney brandished it towards him. "Remember this, Detective? It's the same one you saw Olivia using the night you caught us. She wields it so powerfully." She noticed the bulge in his pants, and smirked. "I see you do remember."

Olivia watched the blonde's display with a frown and inched her belt from her pants, doubling it over and giving it a snap. Elliot's eyes darted towards her, widening at the dark expression on her face, but he still felt Alex's steely gaze on him. If she heard the threatening sound, she didn't let on. Olivia took the few steps towards her, and wrapped the belt around the stubborn attorney's upper chest, pulling her backwards. She reached a hand around to Alex's breasts, punching the nipple between her forefinger and thumb, pulling. "I suggest you change course," she said, pausing to let her teeth graze the skin of Alex's neck. "Otherwise you're going to wish you'd never heard of a vibrator. It can be quite tortuous, remember?"

She kicked Alex's legs apart, and slid the belt from around her neck. "Into position." Alex hesitated, and the pause cost her. The belt swooshed down on her ass, resounding with a loud crack, and she reflexively dropped the vibrator from her fingers. She moved her legs apart, enduring her punishment for now, but merely waiting for the moment when she had her tongue between Olivia's thighs. She knew it was her best shot at reclaiming her control of the evening.

Elliot's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he stared at the scene before him. This powerful, elemental Olivia was so different than the gentle, compassionate partner that worked so well with SVU's victims. Alex, however, was acting much truer to form than he had expected. Unlike the first scene he had viewed, she hadn't rolled over and spread her legs, inviting Olivia to take everything she wanted. She was fighting every step of the way, and he couldn't be sure whether she was actively baiting Olivia in order to increase her punishment, and eventual release, or whether she was genuinely having trouble submitting. He decided it didn't matter. He was just grateful to be watching.

"I don't know what's going on with you tonight, Alex. You've been rude to our guest, disrespectful to me, and all around difficult. I think you need an attitude adjustment."

Olivia was slightly hurt that Alex was being so rebellious. A little fight was nice once in a while, but Alex was taking it overboard this time. The detective knew how she wanted to handle the situation, but she wasn't sure how far she could go without frightening their guest. "If you wanted a spanking, all you had to do was ask, pretty girl." Elliot might not know it, but the spanking was not going to be Alex's real punishment. Olivia knew that her lover enjoyed the sting of the leather belt and the submission that came with it, even if she was fighting those feelings now. The actual punishment would come later, when Alex was begging for release, and Olivia would string her out and deny her past the point where pleasure became pain.

Alex gave a dismissive snort and rolled her eyes, causing Olivia to bring the belt down harshly against the back of her thighs. Normally, she liked to give her pet a little warm up before a blow like that, but Alex didn't deserve to take this the easy way. "I think I'll let our guest decide how many blows you can take. What do you think, Alex?" The ADA opened her mouth to give a sarcastic quip, but a sharp pinch to the back of her thigh silenced her. "Oh, right, I don't care what you think right now. Maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to disobey."

Elliot's mouth went dry as Olivia raised her brow at him, waiting expectantly. He had no idea how many lashes was average, but his partner's furrowed expression unnerved him, and he didn't want to come off soft or placating. "Twenty-five," he said, hoping he kept his uncertainty out of his voice. But one look at Alex's widened eyes told him he'd come up with quite a punishing number.

Olivia was surprised at her partner's recommendation, but knew she would be able to distribute the lashes so as not to permanently mar her girlfriend's beautiful skin. She stood next to Alex, and let the leather caress her stiffened nipples. "Each one that you fail too call out won't count. I suggest you follow the rules."

The first lash came down across the small of her back, and she bit back a yelp, instead letting out a low, "one."

"Louder," Olivia said, this timing bringing the leather down across the backs of her thighs. Alex groaned, but spoke clearly. "Two." She steadied her breathing, managing to call out clearly the next few blows, all the while feeling Elliot's gaze on her. By the time Olivia moved around to concentrate on her breasts and stomach, the poor blonde was breathing raggedly. The belt caught her nipple, not too hard, but enough to cause her to whimper.

"Fifteen," she said, cringing as the fire from Olivia's belt spread across the front of her torse, leaving a series of red marks over her skin. They would disappear before the scene was over, but Elliot's eyes were still wide, and Alex caught him wincing with each lash. Still, she felt the wetness increase between her thighs, and she knew Olivia could see how aroused she was. "Twenty," she gasped, as an especially powerful blow caught her onher pelvis. The detective paused, but only long enough to adjust her grip on the belt, and the next contact came directly against Alex's center, although she pulled the blow a little since Alex had very little protective padding there, and the attorney could barely keep pace with her count as the blows rained down between her legs.

"Twenty-five," she hissed as Olivia finished, taking a step towards her and placing the belt between Alex's teeth, forcing her to hold her own torture instrument. She looked at Elliot, who was straining against his trousers, and let her fingers delve inside the attorney's core, pushing indelicately inside her. She removed her fingers and held them up in front of her, the light glinting off the juices that coated them. "As you can see, she enjoys this."

Elliot swallowed, not wanting to look at the blonde, but unable to keep his eyes from grazing over her parted legs. She was immensely wet, and he automatically wondered if a similar wetness was coating Olivia's thighs. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them: "Liv, don't you think you're wearing too many clothes? I think it would be more of a punishment to to taunt her with what she can't have?"

The words made Alex growl slightly, and the jealous sound made Olivia's decision for her. She gave a low, evil laugh as she began to take off her shirt, giving a not-so-friendly tap to Alex's sore backside when the ADA tried to protest. "You don't get to make the decisions around here, pet. Besides, we want to give Elliot a good show, don't we?" Her voice was pure sex, and it made Elliot's shaft respond, the length twitching with need and growing even harder, which he hadn't known was possible. He gazed, wide eyed and slack jawed, as Olivia pulled her pants down to her knees and delved between her own legs with her fingers, gathering up her wetness with two fingers and bringing it to her lips, moaning as the taste coated her tongue.

It had the desired effect on Alex, who strained in her position, craning her neck over her shoulder to watch. She groaned with a mixture of frustration and arousal, knowing that her true punishment for disobeying Olivia would be denial.

"It's too bad you weren't a good girl earlier," Olivia taunted after she had removed her fingers from her mouth. "I was going to let you use that hot little tongue of yours on me, but now I don't think you deserve it." She paused, considering her next words carefully before delivering them like a well-placed slap to Alex's face. "Elliot, on the other hand, has been very obedient. He followed his rules... maybe I should reward him instead of you. It's such a shame to waste that erectio-"

That was taking it a step too far.

Alex knew that Olivia wouldn't break the ground rules they had set - no sex with Elliot during their scenes, ever, under any circumstances - but in the fire of her anger, she didn't care that Olivia was only taunting her, ratcheting up her humiliation. The ADA leapt up off the bed and aimed a harsh slap at Olivia's face, unable to control her rage and jealousy for another moment. All the stress of her day, the tension of knowing just how much Elliot loved and desired her girlfriend, everything came to a head. Before the blow could land, Olivia caught her wrist and twisted it backwards. Both women stared at each other for several endless seconds, chests heaving, eyes locked in a fierce struggle for dominance. Olivia had never seen Alex fight her this hard before. Usually, the pretty blonde was putty in her hands by now, but obviously the attorney had some demons that needed to be purged tonight.

Olivia intended to fuck them out of her.

"Fine, you want to do things the hard way? Then we'll do them the hard way."

Olivia reached over, gripping two lengths of rope that Alex had laid out with the rest of their toys. She pushed Alex roughly to her knees in front of the bed, taking one reluctant wrist and stretching it sideways, tying it tightly to the bedpost. She did the same with the other hand, displaying Alex in front of their guest with both arms outstretched, as if a mere decoration to their bed. Olivia kicked apart the blonde's knees, forcing her to display her still moistened sex, and knelt down in front of her. She gripped the attorney's chin, forcing her to look up, and tried to search the eyes in front of her, giving Alex ample time to use her safe word. She said, nothing though, merely staring back at Olivia with a defiant expression, despite the submissive posture of her body.

Olivia nodded, standing and sifting through the various instruments splayed on the bed. She held a few up for Elliot's benefit, amused as his eyes widened at each one, as she searched for the one she was looking for, giving him a wide smile as she finally found it. She walked back over to the blonde and knelt in front of her once again, pleased that Alex's eyes immediately focused on the toy she held in her hand, and her breath hitched in anticipation. Olivia glanced over at Elliot. "Remote control vibrator," she said. "A must-have."

She slid the toy against Alex's folds, rubbing it slowly against the slickness there before sliding it easily inside of her. Alex let out a slight whimper at the coldness, but attempted to control her breath. Olivia held the remote up in front of her. "I suggest that you remember..." She turned the dial completely up, prompting a high-pitched moan from the prone figure in front of her. "... that I control you." She glanced over at Elliot, and noticed how he seemed to be straining against his trousers. "I think at this point, Elliot, it's only fair you get a chance to pleasure yourself. Don't you think so, Alex?" She glanced back at her girlfriend, whose chest was heaving more heavily with the vibrations inside her. She gave an imperceptible, almost begrudging nod, but it was enough for Olivia. She smiled, letting a finger trace her pet's jaw line, and wound the vibrations back down to a manageable level before climbing onto the bed behind the attorney, leaning leisurely against the pillows at the head of the bed. She glanced at Elliot, who sat facing her, with Alex tied between them, and for the first time wondered exactly what was running through his mind. For that matter, she wondered what was running through her own pet's mind, as she'd never had Alex react so vehemently to anything she'd done in a scene before. The disobedience left Olivia more than certain that her next piece of punishment was more than warranted.

Elliot watched as Olivia leaned back, spreading her legs in front of him, and trailing her hands over her thighs. Alex struggled against the ropes that held her on the floor at the foot of the bed, facing him. He had quite a view, and he wasn't certain where the scene was going, much less how Alex would survive it. "I apologize for Alex's behavior," she said, running a finger along her folds and causing Elliot's mouth to drop open. "But I think this will be more than an adequate punishment." She let a finger dip inside her own core, and Elliot couldn't resist unzipping his pants and placing his hand discreetly under his boxers. After all, he had been given permission.

Alex couldn't help but watch as Elliot reached a hand into his boxers, and she let her head dip towards the floor. Olivia's self-pleasured moans coming from behind her mixed with Elliot's grunts in front of her were more than enough punishment, not to mention the vibrating egg inside her that her girlfriend kept adjusting. She imagined Olivia behind her, legs spread, her head tossed back as she pleasured herself. Or, was she looking at Elliot? Alex felt a pang of jealousy dart through her and she raised her head back to their visitor, whose eyes, not surprisingly, were locked on the brunette. She let out a frustrated groan, but was punished with an increase in vibrations inside her. Olivia may be pleasuring herself in front of her partner, but for now at least, she was solely focused on her girlfriend.

Elliot could not quite believe what he was seeing. The last time he watched Alex and Olivia had been phenomenal, although also a little conflicting, but seeing Olivia completely spread open for him, teasing the hard nub of her clitoris on every upstroke before letting her fingers slip hungrily inside of her entrance was too much. It was everything he had ever imagined it would be and more, and when Olivia's eyes met with his for a brief moment, the connection almost pushed him over the edge. It was only through sheer force of will that he was able to hold back.

Although her attention was divided between Alex and Elliot, Olivia clearly noticed how high her partner's pleasure was ratcheted, and eased things back a little. Obviously he found the sight of Alex bound to the bed as Olivia teased her just as erotic as she did. Somehow, it never crossed her mind that she might be the one driving Elliot to distraction. "Are you thinking about your transgressions, pet?" Olivia said, pausing for just a moment to reach out with her other hand and stroke Alex's head. The attorney did not say anything, and Olivia frowned. "I was going to give you a small reward, but if you don't want it..."

"Yes, I want it, Mistress, please!" Alex said, falling back into her submissive role only because she was desperate to stop Olivia from masturbating for Elliot's viewing pleasure instead of hers. That was truly the epitome of punishment and humiliation. She hated it, and not in a good way.

"Very well..."

Alex's heart leapt and Elliot's sank a little as Olivia eased her fingers out of their snug home and raised herself to her knees. She glanced at the assortment of toys, trying to decide what else she wanted to use, when she noticed the pair of panties she had grabbed from the doorway. Her eyes lit up. That would be the perfect way to remind her pet exactly what she was being punished for. The detective picked them up again, baling them in her fist and walking around to the foot of the bed, where Alex's hips were squirming against empty air, desperate for some kind of pressure. The vibrations inside her were unbearable, but she needed something more in order to come, and she had a sinking feeling that Olivia would be unwilling to give her release for a long, long time.

Olivia reached down to tap Alex's cheek, bending over and giving Elliot a much closer view of her slick pink folds. "Open up, sweetie," she cooed, and the attorney eagerly obeyed, deliberately ignoring the position Olivia had put herself in - at least she wasn't masturbating anymore - and opened her mouth, expecting to be given a taste of her Mistress's fingers. Instead, Olivia shoved the panties in her mouth, effectively gagging her. "If you lose those," she warned, "you will be very, very sorry."

The silken material was slick against Alex's tongue, and she dipped her head with a newfound frustration. It didn't look like she would be tasting her lover at any point during the evening, and she felt her stubborn edge slowly dissolving as the vibrations inside her continued their slow torture. Olivia lifted her chin, her first gentle touch of the night, and looked into the blue eyes, which had lost just a touch of their defiant streak. Not that it would lessen the blonde's punishment. Olivia let a leisurely finger trace the attorney's collarbone, moving across one arm, creating a soft tickle against the pale skin. Her hand moved down to Alex's breast, kneading it slowly before rolling a neglected nipple between her fingers. She increased the pressure, pinching until the attorney struggled in her bonds. Olivia glanced conspiratorially at Elliot, still holding the captured nipple, waiting for her girlfriend's tale tell whimpers. "It may hurt now," she explained to him. "But the real pain comes..." she trailed off as she released the hardened nipple, keeping eye contact with Elliot even as Alex moaned heavily into her makeshift gag. "... the real pain comes after release."

She smiled back at her girlfriend, and shifted her position to the other side, turning her full attention to the opposite breast, which she gave a few harsh slaps with her palm before gripping the nipple in another painful vice. Alex turned a pair of pleading eyes towards the detective as the pressure only increased.

Elliot had stilled his hand in his boxers, utterly amazed by the amount of torture that Olivia was subjecting Alex to. The blonde's right breast was red with Olivia's handprints, her nipple hardened and engorged, and her whimpers, though muffled through the panties that stuffed her mouth, were more than audible. He saw her lips part in relief as Olivia released the second nipple, and the light blue silk panties inched just slightly out of her lips. She groaned, and Elliot saw his partner turn the knob on the remote, which forced her blue eyes wide with mounting pleasure. He could visibly see the moisture running down her parted thighs, and wondered how in the hell she was able to control her body so well. He'd had to remove his hand from his pants on several occasions just to prevent himself from climaxing.

Olivia replaced her tortuous fingers with her mouth, closing it around the reddened bud, and soothing it with her tongue. Alex relaxed into the touch, enjoying the relief, but soon the heat of her girlfriend's tongue only served to escalate her desire, and she writhed once again against her ropes. Olivia leaned low, letting her tongue continue down the blonde's body, across her stomach, which was tense with an unmet need. She went even lower, allowing herself the room she needed to raise her hips and bend her head towards Alex's glistening center, while at the same time giving Elliot a full view of her ass and her own wet sex, open and needy. She heard Elliot's appreciative grunt, and heard the rustle of his pants as he let his hand go back to work. She glanced up at Alex, who watched her continue her course with a lustful eye, and she finally reached her destination, enveloping the attorney's swollen clit with her mouth.

Alex moaned into the gag, knowing all too well that Olivia was only going to prolong her release even further, despite what her actions were showing to the contrary. The detective's teeth nipped against her, causing the ADA to struggle more intensely against her restraints, attempting to shift herself away from the expert tongue. Olivia knew Alex had already been trying to control her climax for awhile, and the timely nip to her swollen center was not helping. She felt the attorney strain underneath her touch, and looked up to see her breasts heaving as she attempted to distance her mind from the stimulations against her.

"Poor Alex," she said, whispering into her center. "You can't beg to come with that gag in your mouth, can you? I guess that means I can go for as long as I want?"

Since her hands were bound, Alex's toes flexed instead, her hips shifting constantly beneath Olivia's wicked tongue. Olivia didn't use her mouth on Alex quite as often as the ADA did on her, partially because Alex usually got impatient and wanted some kind of harsher penetration, but when she did... when she did, it drove the Alex wild. Her eyes began to water with the effort of holding back her release and she screamed behind the fabric of her panties even though she knew that she had not been invited to speak.

Olivia saw the sound for what it was, an act of desperation instead of a deliberate disobedience, and decided to ease Alex's torment for a moment... but only a moment. Then, she planned to push her lover even further.

"Alex loves when I use my mouth on her," the detective said, getting back up and licking her lips for Elliot's benefit, "but she finds it a little... frustrating." His groan made her chuckle. "But what she really loves most of all," Olivia continued, letting her voice trail off as she looked at the assortment of toys at her disposal, "is when I use this." The detective held up an oddly shaped blue dildo, and Elliot's need faded for just a moment as he tried to figure out how it worked. He recognized the realistically shaped, if not realistically colored, head and shaft of the toy, but the other side curved back up, ending in a thick bulb.

Seeing Elliot's confusion, Olivia began running her hand over the longer end. "This part goes inside of her," she purred, starting a light rhythm as she circled the shaft with her fist and pumped. Elliot felt his hips buck in response, and Olivia laughed. Her fingers let go and trailed down to the other end. "And this part... this part goes inside of me." Her explanation given, Olivia reached between her own legs once again, testing her wetness before setting the bulb against her entrance and oh-so-torturously-slowly pressing in. Elliot watched in amazement as her body swallowed the thick protrusion, and once it was firmly settled inside, he was surprised to see that his partner had a very impressive erection of her own.

Alex was able to make out what was happening based on the snippets of conversation, and she felt herself pulse with unmet need. She hated that her body wanted Olivia so much. Normally, Alex wasn't one for dramatics, but she wondered if she really might die if Olivia wasn't buried inside of her fast, hard, and most importantly, soon. Her lover was paying far too much attention to Elliot, and she wanted Olivia focused completely on her again.

As Olivia finished readying herself, Elliot couldn't take his eyes off of her. He wasn't quite sure if her new piece of anatomy made him uncomfortable or not, but judging by the way his own twitched under his touch, he was certain that he wanted to see more of Olivia, at any rate. She took a step towards Alex, and although the ADA had been given time to recover from the detective's probing tongue, she was still very much aroused by the vibrating toy inside her. Olivia smiled down at her as the attorney's blue eyes widened in lustful recognition of the new device. Olivia stroked the dildo that protruded from her hips, and Alex mumbled something through her gag.

"What's that, sweetheart?" Olivia asked, leaning closer to her girlfriend. She cupped Alex's jaw, forcing her mouth open, revealing the blue silk that was balled inside. She glanced back over her shoulder at Elliot. "I can think of a much better use for that hot little mouth right about now, can't you?"

Elliot wasn't sure if he nodded or not. He seemed to be frozen, and was afraid that if he moved, or acknowledged what was about to happen in any way, he would come right then and there. Olivia smiled, turning her attention back to Alex and slipped her fingers in her mouth, pulling out the gag, which she let drop onto the blonde's quivering thigh. She took a step forward, placing the dildo at the entrance to Alex's lips, where she accepted it willingly. This wasn't what Alex had in mind, but she enjoyed pumping it with her mouth, hoping that Olivia could feel her ministrations deep in her own core. Olivia moaned as the fake cock slid inside her girlfriend's mouth, and as soon as Alex's tongue ran up its length, she began pushing it further, allowing Elliot to see just how good at this the ADA could be. She heard her partner's faint moans behind her, and knew that the sight of Alex on her knees, hands pulled tight to her sides, her mouth sliding up and down the fake shaft would just about destroy him. She smiled to herself as Alex stared up at her, and just for the hell of it, Olivia turned up the dial on the remote, smirking at the widening eyes and the moan that slid out around the dildo as the attorney adjusted to the new level. She grabbed the back of Alex's neck, pushing her mouth further onto the instrument. "Don't let that vibrator disturb you," she said, holding Alex in place for a moment too long before letting go and pulling out of her. Alex heaved in a breath, her body slumping into the foot of the bed, hoping that Olivia would take pity on her soon. She couldn't help but dart a look at Elliot, and almost rolled her eyes at the way he looked at her, as if she'd reached some new level of respect in his sexual mind.

Olivia's hips blocked his expression as she leaned down, running a hand across Alex's breast. "I think you've managed to lube me up quite well," she said, letting her fingers trail down to Alex's center, pinching her clit quickly before abruptly pulling out the vibrator and holding it up for inspection, its surface shiny with the attorney's juices. "Although I don't think that matters very much, judging by how wet you are." She tossed the vibrator aside and took Alex's mouth with her own, letting the fake shaft rub up against the blonde's pelvis, feeling her writhe against it, searching to be filled again. She broke the kiss and peered down at her pet, who seemed desperate enough to do anything Olivia requested of her. "Alex, do you think you can behave if I untie you?"

A slight nod, and Olivia knew that she had effectively broken down the defiance that had marked the scene earlier. Still, that didn't mean Alex would get what she wanted right away. Olivia reached up, untying one arm, then the other, but leaving the ropes around the attorney's wrists, just as a reminder that any untoward behavior would still be punished. She gave her girlfriend a moment to relieve the tension in her arms before gripping her hair and pulling her upwards. "I hope your knees are doing okay," she said, nipping the blonde's ear in a gentle caress. "Because you're still going to be on them for awhile."

Alex remained docile as Olivia led her to the side of the bed, urging her to crawl forward onto the mattress. The ADA was grateful that Olivia had a king sized bed, a purchase she had made relatively recently, in fact. Fortunately, the bed was wide enough for both of them. Olivia gave her pet's backside a not-so-gentle tap, making the bruises that were already forming ache.

"I'm glad you've finally decided to listen," Olivia teased as she positioned herself behind her lover, taking the shaft of the double-ended phallus in her hand and probing at Alex's entrance with just the tip. "We could have gotten to this part much faster if you hadn't insisted on making me punish you." Alex spared a glance at Elliot, and was pleased to see that he looked a little confused, although he was still obviously very aroused. She smiled to herself just slightly, grateful that Olivia couldn't see her face. For some reason, it was extremely satisfying to see Elliot have a bit of trouble inserting himself into the fantasy. She always liked it when Olivia used toys on her, but this only made it better. Unfortunately, Olivia didn't seem to be in any hurry to take her, either. Alex tried shifting her hips back just slightly, spreading her thighs invitingly, but she couldn't get her lover to push inside of her no matter how many signs her body gave.

Olivia clicked her tongue disappointedly. "I thought we were past this, sweetie," she said, gripping Alex's hips with both hands and holding her in place so that she couldn't rock back onto the toy. "We have a guest, remember? Don't forget your manners."

The ADA did remember that they had a guest, and as she glanced over at Elliot, whose hand had started moving inside of his boxers again, she decided that she was tired of fighting Olivia. That didn't mean she wasn't still a little jealous, but her body was absolutely thrumming with need, and she made a conscious decision to enjoy herself. She had already suffered enough for one evening. Her mind switched gears, remembering how much Elliot's voyeurism had aroused her last time, and the time he had accidentally walked in on them. She let her body and mind relax, concentrating on how much she wanted Olivia inside her, how much she enjoyed her lover's warm hands as they held her hips, and even how much the thought of Elliot watching them and appreciating them, at least physically, excited her. It was the emotional aspect of things that made her eyes turn green.

The energy throughout the entire room changed, causing all three of them to let go of the breaths they didn't know they had been holding. Immediately sensing the shift in Alex's mood, Olivia began dragging the head of the silicone cock through her drenched folds. "There, see? It isn't so hard to be good," she murmured, and this time, her voice made Alex feel wanted instead of grating on her nerves. The attorney's body quivered, her muscles rippling beneath her skin as Olivia's warm hands moved from her hips to stroke her cheeks, her outer thighs, and even her lower back. It felt good, and she let her head hang down between her elbows, her entire body shaking.

Elliot, meanwhile, was impressed by Olivia's degree of self-control. He knew he wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation to thrust inside of the vulnerable blonde, too enticed by the promise of being surrounded by warm, tight heat. Although his partner was the one he had feelings for, he couldn't imagine anyone, himself included, who could resist Alex Cabot in that particular position.

Except, it seemed, for Olivia. "Now, Alex, what do good, obedient girls say when they want to be fucked?"

Alex wasn't about to misstep when she could feel the shaft teasing her entrance. "Please, Ma'am, please fuck me."

Olivia smiled, tracing a slow finger down Alex's back. She glanced up at Elliot, and raised her eyebrows at him. "I think she's been punished enough, don't you?"

He swallowed, but nodded intently. He wasn't certain he could hold out much longer. His gaze briefly flicked towards Alex, and he saw something like gratitude in her eyes.

Olivia slid the dildo inside Alex's slick core excruciatingly slowly, inserting it inch by inch until the attorney was fully stuffed. The ADA inhaled at the anticipated fullness, and waited for Olivia to begin the hard thrusting that she was so ready to welcome with a rock of her hips. But the detective's hand still stayed forcefully at her hips, locking them in place. "Alex hates it when I take things slowly," Olivia explained, slowly pulling her pelvis out, then in at a snail's pace. "She enjoys being fucked hard and fast." She reached a hand down to Alex's still dipped head, and jerked it back up, level with Elliot's gaze. "Isn't that right, pet?"

Alex couldn't help the frustrated moan that slipped from her lips as she felt Olivia slide slowly back out of her, but she recovered quickly, hoping her unintentional misstep wouldn't prolong her suffering. "Yes ma'am," she replied.

Olivia nodded, releasing her hand from the attorney's hair. "Elliot, I wish you could feel the way her muscles contract around me, pulling me back in, practically begging for more." She knew her words were striking a chord in him, and she was pleased that he was reacting so strongly to the progression of the scene, based on the pace at which his hand was working himself.

Elliot was more than turned on by the sigh of Olivia standing so powerfully behind the submissive attorney, but he had never felt more unneeded than at the current moment. Still, that didn't stop him from settling in and enjoying this new idea immensely. He imagined the other end of the instrument inside Olivia, working her tight core, and he couldn't stop his groan.

"Sweetie, I think Elliot enjoys the idea of you being fucked. And owned." She punctuated her words with a hard, rough thrust, ripping a pleasured moan from her. "Is that what you want?"

"Yes," she said, and, feeling Olivia begin to slip out of her, corrected her plea. "Please!" She let out a yelp as the detective slammed into her, thrusting the fake shaft in to it's hilt. Her head dipped low and she let her hips meet Olivia's, the sound of her mounting pleasure expressed in her whimpers. Her clit begged for attention, but her girlfriend kept her hand on her hips, only emphasizing her thrusts with an occasional slap.

Olivia felt her own pleasure increase as the bulb of the dildo pressed the special spot inside of her, and she tried to control herself for the sake of the scene. She could feel Alex clenching against the toy, and she waited for the breathless request.

"May I come?"

The detective paused, pretending to think about it, making Alex whimper as the thrusts inside of her stopped. "Well, I don't know. You were awfully disobedient earlier."

"I just - please..."

That was the word she had been waiting for, but Olivia wondered just how far she could make Alex's begging go. Her hips jerked forward of their own accord, excited by Alex's obvious need, and she ran her nails lightly down the blonde's spine. "Apologize to Elliot first," she growled. "Then, maybe, if he thinks it's all right, I'll let you come."

"I'm sorry," Alex cried, abandoning all shame as she writhed against the shaft buried deep inside of her. At this point, she was so desperate to come that she didn't care about anything else.

"Head up." The order was accompanied by a hand in her hair, pulling her chin higher so that she was forced to meet Elliot's gaze.

"I'm s-sorry for disobeying! Please let me come!"

Elliot was so entranced by the picture Alex made and the way Olivia completely controlled her that he couldn't find his voice for several moments. He looked at Olivia, and could tell that his partner needed release almost as much as he and Alex did. He felt a sharp pang of regret that her hungry gaze wasn't for him, but he still wanted to see both of them come, even if it was for each other instead of for him. Hell, he was getting the chance to view something no one else had ever been privileged enough to see. In a way, both Olivia and Alex were being emotionally intimate with him, even if they weren't including him physically.

"Go ahead," he gasped out, feeling himself twitch in his hand and knowing he wasn't going to last long either, "I want to see both of you come."

Olivia let out a low, possessive growl and began thrusting inside of Alex again, but this time she brought her hand between the attorney's legs and found her clit, rubbing over it with heavy circles. "You're all right, baby," she murmured to Alex, who was so overwhelmed at finally getting what she wanted that her body was having trouble processing all of the different sensations. "Let go for me." Alex sobbed and threw her head back as the contractions began to pull low in her belly, arching her spine and giving Elliot a fabulous view of everything she was experiencing.

Olivia loved nothing more than the sound of Alex orgasming, and the attorney's sob rushed through her, resulting in her own powerful wave of pleasure. She felt the familiar spasm of her hips as they bucked forward, releasing their tension, a low, gutteral moan marking her own release. She heard Elliot do the same, and locked eyes with him over the lithe attorney, who had now collapsed her torso onto the bed.

Elliot tried to level his breath as his orgasm petered out, and he discreetly reached for the towel beside his chair. "Jesus Christ," he said, promoting a smile from Olivia as she gently pulled out of her girlfriend. Elliot was once again surprised by her girth, but he couldn't avert his gaze from her as she slipped the instrument out of herself. She glanced down at the object in her hand and back to Elliot. "I guess we both need to clean up.". The two detectives chuckled, Elliot somewhat nervously, but the attorney let out a displeased groan.

"God, Liv, don't be crude," she said, raising herself gingerly off the bed, slowly testing her leg muscles. She walked towards the bathroom, still retaining an uncanny sense of grace about her, which Elliot couldn't deny was rather sexy. "You'll excuse me if I opt out of the locker room talk?" And with that, she shut the door behind her, and Elliot heard the sound of running water from the shower.

...

Chapter Eight:

"Mom, Kathleen took my earrings!"

"No I didn't. Maureen stole them, I just took them back!"

Kathy sighed, studying the earrings that her middle daughter was holding out for her inspection. She honestly had no idea who they belonged to. "Come on, girls, can't you be grown up about this? There's no reason why you can't share some of your jewelry. That means you each have twice the selection to choose from."

"Momma! Dickie says I can't play with him..."

Seeing her youngest in tears only increased Kathy's exhaustion. "Lizzie, what have I told you about leaving your brother alone? He's been playing with you all day. Maybe he wants some time to himself."

"He says I can't pretend with him because I'm a girl and he wants to play soldiers."

"Dickie, come in here please," Kathy said, raising her voice even though she normally disapproved of yelling in the house. She hoped that all this commotion hadn't disturbed her mother and sister yet. Her reluctant son slouched in a few moments later, dragging his feet and preparing himself for a scolding.

"What?"

Kathy fixed him with a stare. "'What' isn't a very polite way to answer people, Dickie."

"Yes, ma'am," the boy grumbled, glaring at his twin from beneath a furrowed brow.

"Why don't you want to play soldiers with your sister?"

"Because she doesn't know how to play it right! She's a girl."

"Girls can be soldiers too, honey."

Lizzie stuck out her tongue. "Yeah, girls can be soldiers too!" she parroted.

"Mom, the earrings -"

"If you two can't work out a compromise, I'll take them, and neither of you can wear them..." That shut her two oldest up, and they left to go upstairs, still arguing in muffled voices. "And Dickie, it's okay if you want to play by yourself sometimes, but don't leave Lizzie out just because she's a girl. She likes to pretend with you. How would you feel if she didn't let you play her games because you were a boy?"

Dickie considered this, and then took his twin's hand. "Okay, I guess you can play, but you have to be the bad guy!"

With her children's problems resolved for the moment, Kathy checked the time and decided to call Elliot at work. She might not be able to get ahold of him, but she could at least leave a message. She located her purse on the table by the front door and dug out her phone. She didn't get an answer on Elliot's cell, and so she decided to try his work number. It rang four times before someone finally picked up.

"Tutuola, Special Victims Unit."

"Hi, this is Kathy. Is Elliot around?"

"Elliot?" Fin repeated, sounding confused. "He and Liv took off today, Munch and I are catching."

Some bolt of women's intuition silenced her for a moment, and she flashed back to the earrings her daughter had held in her hand. Elliot had said he was covering for Olivia, right? Of course he had, why else would he have missed out on the weekend trip with the kids?

"Mrs. Stabler? Everything all right?"

She swallowed back her suspicion, and forced her voice to work. "You said the two of them left together? Wasn't Olivia heading out of town?"

"Uh, not that I know of, Mrs. Stabler."

Kathy felt her own stupidity ballooning, but asked her next question anyway, not caring if she put Fin in an awkward position. "Isn't Elliot covering for her tomorrow?" She heard Fin pause. Cops always protect one another, she thought. She'd heard all too often from Elliot about the "code," but to hell with that.

Fin darted a look over at Munch and raised his eyebrows. Whatever miscommunication Elliot and his wife had, he certainly didn't know anything about it. "As far as I know, Elliot and Liv are both off tomorrow." He wasn't about to lie to a cop's wife. The code may stretch across many things, but it certainly didn't cover angry housewives.

Kathy felt a knot forming in her stomach, and she gave a murmured goodbye before hanging up the phone. She and Elliot had been married for over fifteen years, and never once had he cheated on her. Why was she even jumping to such a conclusion? She knew the reason, even though she couldn't quite allow herself to acknowledge it. She had never come to terms with Elliot and Olivia's relationship. She knew that the trust and respect they had for each other mirrored the love between a married couple. For the longest time she'd assumed the short-cropped cop was gay, but Elliot had never alluded to that. She had the sudden urge to pack up the kids and head back to the city, and to interrupt whatever had her husband so ppreoccupied. She put a hand to her temple, and suddenly found herself laughing at her own paranoia. This was Elliot, her husband, the father of her children. What was she thinking?

She shook the thoughts out of her mind, turning back to the kitchen where the continually harried shouts of her children reminded her that she had more prescient things to focus on than the ridiculous notion that her husband was having an affair.

...

Elliot walked back along the street towards his car, his mind still reeling from his night. It struck him that he was still flustered by his partner's touch against his crotch, and he flushed just from the memory of it. Then, the way she'd casually slipped on an old flannel shirt over her body after Alex left them alone, reminded him of how she would act if it had been just the two of them making love: her pulling on one of his old work shirts, and sliding her warm body next to him. Jesus, he thought to himself as he felt something shift below his belt. At least he could wait until he got home to continue his fantasies. He sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. Two missed calls, one from Kathy and one from the precinct. He immediately dialed back the work number.

"Fin."

"Fin, it's Elliot. Something going on over there?"

"It's calm as a Buddhist temple over here, my friend, but there may be a storm brewing at your house."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your wife called. She was under the impression that you were covering for Olivia today. Unfortunately, I didn't help your lie any."

Elliot felt his stomach drop. "Ah, yeah. No problem, Fin, I've got it under control."

"You mean you and Olivia got it under control?"

He cleared his throat. "It's not what you think, Fin."

"It never is, my friend. Handle your business."

Elliot heard his colleague hang up, and he cursed under his breath. He had to call Kathy. And tell her what exactly? Whatever it took to keep her out of the city until Sunday. He and Olivia had already made plans to continue their tryst over the weekend, and there was no way he was letting anything get in the way of it. Wondering what the hell had happened to his moral code, he continued the walk to his car, Olivia still in his mind.

...

"So, do you want to talk about it?"

Alex deliberately ignored Olivia's overture, concentrating on the pedicure that she was currently treating herself to instead. Her blonde hair was wrapped up in a fluffy white towel and her face still stung from the exfoliating scrub she had used in the shower. So far, her nails were freshly clipped and she was soaking them in a large bowl of warm water. "There isn't much to talk about," Alex said when Olivia refused to stop looking at her. "We had a scene, it's over, and now I'm tired." She had to hold herself back from adding 'and I want to be alone'. Alex knew that her girlfriend was just trying to offer comfort, but Olivia was the last person she wanted to discuss her feelings with right now... well, maybe the second to last person.

"Then why do you look like you're about to declare war against your cuticles?" Olivia was disappointed when her joke failed to elicit a response. She walked up behind Alex's perch on the edge of the bed. She had originally started in the bathroom, but when Olivia had followed her in there, she had attempted to escape to the bedroom despite the danger of staining the carpet with a spilled bottle of nail polish. The detective worked her thumbs into the stiff muscles behind the wings of Alex's shoulder blades and dropped a kiss on her neck. Alex was wearing a tank top and a pair of girl boxers, but no other clothing, and Olivia was careful not to irritate any of the marks on her back. "Come on, sweetheart."

"I'm really not in the mood right now, Olivia," Alex said, trying not to sound too cold. Her lover sighed anyway.

"I meant come on and tell me what's bothering you. Was it our scene with Elliot?"

With Elliot. Why did everything in their bedroom - and the rest of their relationship - have to be about Elliot all of a sudden? Voyeurism was one thing, but the more involved Elliot became in their relationship, the more insecure Alex felt about Olivia's feelings for her. Having someone watch her and Olivia during sex didn't bother her. In fact, it was still exciting. The fact that the person was Elliot didn't bother her either. Olivia trusted him, and so she trusted him too. Even Elliot's feelings for Olivia didn't bother her on their own. How could she blame him for being half in love with his partner when she hadn't been able to resist Olivia either? But put those three pieces together, and Alex was feeling all kinds of paranoid.

"Did I do something -"

"No! This has nothing to do with you. Well, it does but - Christ, Olivia, I can't believe how obtuse you are sometimes. You're supposed to be a detective!"

The brunette stood up, leaving Alex's skin cold where her hands had been. "Look, I'll call Elliot. We'll cancel the rest of our weekend plans."

Alex felt her heart break when she saw her lover's confused and hurt expression. "No, Liv. That's not it. I guess I'm just feeling a little vulnerable."

Something in Alex's eyes pulled at Olivia, because she stopped and turned back. She unwound the towel from around Alex's head and spread it out on the floor, gently removing her girlfriend's feet from the warm bowl of water and drying them off. The tenderness of the gesture made Alex's eyes prick. "You know you can tell me anything, right? And I won't be disappointed or upset with you..."

"I know," Alex said, stroking the side of Olivia's face. For a moment, the storm of emotions raging inside of her chest calmed. "I know..."

"So come on, talk to me, sweetheart."

Alex blinked away from her girlfriend's inquiring gaze. "I - I want to top tomorrow night," she replied, feeling slightly irritated that she'd copped out on sharing the whole truth. As much as it irked her, she wasn't sure if it was her place to out Elliot's feelings about Olivia. The two of them shared a history even before she had come along, and although she hoped eventually Elliot would come around, she couldn't see herself forcing that conversation.

Olivia smiled, clearly relieved. "Is that all you meant by vulnerable? Honey, trust me, even though you've played bottom the last two scenes, Elliot is still deathly afraid of you." She searched her girlfriend's face, and managed to pull a small smile out of her. "If I let you top, we go by the same rules as always."

Alex nodded, familiar with their arrangement. There were certain things Olivia wasn't comfortable with on the receiving end: whipping being the major one. Not that Alex needed to resort to such physical pain. She was perfectly capable of torturing Olivia with merely her tongue and her fingers. "That's fine." She leaned over, and gave her girlfriend a light kiss. "Thank you."

"So we're fine?"

"Yes, Liv, we're fine. You can go watch television with a clear conscience." She smiled to herself as she watched her girlfriend walk out of the room, her tones, olive legs peeking out of the ratty old flannel shirt that she insisted on keeping. Alex couldn't have found it sexier.

...

Elliot pressed the phone to his ear, waiting for his wife's familiar voice. His breath hitched as he heard her pick up.

"Hey El."

"Hey, Kath, how's everything going up there?"

"Fine. Where've you been? I tried you two hours ago."

"I caught a drink with Liv. She leaves tomorrow." He prayed he'd gotten his lies straight with his partners.

"Oh."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"But you don't work tomorrow, do you?"

Here went nothing. "No, honey, I don't. I mixed up my schedule. I work Sunday, not tomorrow. I figured I'd use the time to fix that broken step, since the kids won't be running around." He smiled, hoping his good will transferred through his cell connection.

"Good. Why don't you fix that part of the fence out back?"

"Sure thing." He paused. "I miss you guys." It was true. The empty house just seemed to remind him of his loneliness, and the mistakes that he was intent on making.

"Miss you too, El." The voice was lighter than when she initially answered the phone, and he took that as a bullet dodged. At least until Sunday.

"Why don't you put those little cretins on the phone? I need an update from this kids."

He chuckled at the sound of shuffling feet and muffled cries, the image of his kids fighting over the phone lighting up his mind.

...

Alex walked into the kitchen, where Olivia was busying herself putting away a bag of groceries. "Mmm," said the blonde, as she rifled through her bag, clearly getting in her girlfriend's way and not caring. "You got my favorite red." She raised her eyebrows at the detective. "Is this your way of convincing me to go easy on you tonight?"

Olivia raised an eyebrow, and sidled over to the blonde, lifting the bottle out of her hands. "I don't have to do anything," she said, pacing a kiss on the attorney's lips. "Because, whatever you do tonight, however you play it, you'll remember... that payback can be quite punishing." She smiled, giving Alex another kiss before continuing to sift through the bag.

"What time is Elliot coming over?"

Olivia glanced at her watch. "8:30. That gives you plenty of time for you to write your cute little notes, and set everything up for him."

Alex pursed her lips. "You know, it would be a lot more awkward if we weren't so specific with him. You're lucky I take such good care planning this whole thing." She also knew that if she didn't give Elliot explicit instructions, he may try to overstay his welcome. Tonight, with her in charge, he would hopefully be out the door before Olivia was even allowed to speak with him. The more she had thought about it, the less comfortable she'd become with their easy conversation after a scene.

"I know, sweetie. You've got everything under control."

"Just remember that tonight." Alex smirked, and waltzed out of the kitchen, calling out further instructions over her shoulder. "And open that bottle of wine now. I want to let it breathe."

Olivia rolled her eyes, but nodded. The orders were already beginning.

Meanwhile, Alex pulled out a yellow pad of Post-Its and started writing. She wanted everything to go perfectly tonight, but for once, her primary motivation wasn't sexual pleasure. Having Elliot act as an audience to their escapades had been frightening at first. Then it was fun. Now, the mere thought of Elliot watching Olivia made her burn with jealousy. She knew it was childish, immature, and even a little cruel, but tonight she intended to prove exactly who Olivia belonged to, and she was going to make sure Elliot watched every moment of it. Alex wanted to make sure there was no doubt in his mind that he would never have a chance with her girlfriend. Logically, she knew he couldn't help his crush, but emotionally, she felt threatened, particularly when she remembered the clear view Elliot had gotten of Olivia while she touched herself on Friday. The memory made her stomach churn, and it wasn't with arousal.

As she wrote out her notes, Alex thought about how she would torture Olivia and prove her ownership. She tried to remember what Elliot had seemed to like, and what he hadn't. The strap-on had confused him a little at the beginning, and Alex suspected it was because the double-ended toy was being wielded by Olivia, making it difficult for him to imagine himself with her. Well, this time, she planned on making it very easy for him to imagine. She would use the same toy on Olivia while he got a good view. Like most heterosexual males, penetration was the beginning and the end of sex - the ultimate act, the most important aspect of a physical relationship. She wanted to show him just how well she could please Olivia and just how unnecessary he was to her pleasure.

Alex thought about tying Olivia, something that she had done before on several occasions, but decided against it. The most painful thing for Elliot to see would be Olivia enjoying it... begging for more... while Alex used her words and her touches to show complete ownership.

"Hon, it's 8:15," Olivia said as she bent over the dishwasher, stacking the dinner dishes and closing the machine so that their guest wouldn't be greeted with a pile of dirty plates and cutlery... she didn't think he would be coming into the kitchen, but since Alex was in charge tonight, she couldn't be sure. In fact, as she thought about it, Olivia was surprised to realize that so far, Elliot had only watched them in the bedroom. Usually, she and Alex made use of the entire apartment, even leaving the windows open occasionally.

Alex smiled at the sight of Olivia's ass sticking up in the air as she closed the washer, and the ADA couldn't resist giving it a firm slap through the denim of her jeans. Olivia yelped, but only in surprise. "Strip and go into the bedroom, sweetheart." The attorney re-thought for a moment, and then she added a few more requests. "Actually, I want you to wear that red teddy I bought you, and put on some eye makeup and lipstick." She hoped that Elliot would appreciate the picture Olivia made before Alex slowly and deliberately shattered his fantasy.

Alex started to place her notes in their usual places, but after placing the first one outside the door, thought better of it, and crumpled rest of them in her fist. Instead, she poured herself a glass of wine and waited, sipping it slowly. She knew Olivia would be expecting her in the bedroom to begin their scene before their watcher arrived, but Alex was in the mood to switch things up.

...

Chapter Nine:

After a few minutes, the door opened and Elliot stepped inside, his eyes darting up in surprise as he caught sight of the attorney leaning against the kitchen counter, staring at him expectantly.

"Hey there," she said.

Elliot was not expecting the attorney to be waiting for him, especially wearing such a serious expression. She was dressed in a simple black cocktail dress, that was just low cut enough in the front to give him a healthy glimpse of the breasts that had appeared in his imagination more than once over the past two weeks. She extended a glass of wine towards him, with a cordial smile.

He accepted it, walking closer to her, breathing in her scent, which was faintly of lavender. "Where's Olivia?" he asked innocently enough.

Alex gave him a smile that he couldn't quite read, but he saw some feral protection in the blue eyes that leveled back at him. "She's following my directions, and getting ready for me." She raised her glass to him. "Cheers, Detective."

He wasn't sure why, but he felt something had shifted in the blonde. He hadn't been expecting her to take the lead, although he did have to admit that her everyday confidence would probably translate well to the bedroom.

She left him, brushing past him and walking gracefully towards the living room. "Have a seat," she said, motioning towards a chair near the window as she took a seat on the couch, crossing her legs.

Elliot settled uncomfortably in the chair, wondering where his partner was. "Olivia, sweetheart," Alex called. "Come join us."

Elliot heard footsteps padding down the hallway, and breathed a sigh of relief, taking a long sip of his wine. He nearly choked, however, at the sight of his partner, who came toward them in the most revealing lingerie he had ever seen. The sheer red material left nothing to the imagination, but created such a demure, sexy aura about the detective that he couldn't quite peel his eyes off of her.

If he had, he would have seen Alex nod appreciatively at her girlfriend's smoky eyes, full red lips, and supple, lace covered breasts, before turning a smug smile toward Elliot. She had him right where she wanted him.

"Kneel for me, dear," the ADA commanded, gesturing at the carpet beside her with a thin, elegant hand. Elliot was still recovering from his shock when Alex gave the command, and the sight of his strong, dominant partner lowering herself to her knees by Alex's feet sent him reeling a second time. Based on his last two experiences with Alex and Olivia, he had expected the brunette to take control, but it looked like the two women had switched roles tonight. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. A part of him was excited, eager to see Olivia's vulnerable side, but the other part of him was slightly uncomfortable for reasons he couldn't explain.

Perhaps it was something in Alex's gaze, because the attorney wore a sly smirk on her lips, the same one she used in court right before delivering a devastating blow during her infamous cross examinations. Her expression turned even more predatory as she admired Olivia, allowing her eyes to caress the detective's body without bothering to be subtle. The detective was still kneeling at her feet, head bowed, and she hadn't said a word. Alex reached out to caress Olivia's head, petting her lover's hair but keeping her eyes on Elliot. "Good girl," she purred, enjoying the dumbfounded expression that remained on Elliot's face. "As you can see, Olivia is my pet tonight."

Elliot still hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from Olivia. The color of the neglige set off her bronze skin perfectly, and although they were fixed on the floor, he knew that Olivia's eyes would be soft, round, and dark. "She's such a dear girl when I can get her to behave," Alex said, teasing Elliot just a little more. "I see you're already appreciating her good behavior, aren't you, Detective Stabler?" She was pleased to see him blush as she gestured at the obvious bulge in his trousers.

"She's beautiful, as always," he croaked out, trying to keep his voice steady but failing miserably.

"She is, isn't she? Oh, you haven't gotten a proper look at her outfit yet. Olivia? Stand."

Olivia stood gracefully, holding her hands behind her back and keeping her eyes on her feet. "Hold out your arms and twirl for me. I want Elliot to get the full effect."

Elliot couldn't quite stifle a groan as Olivia padded in a circle, making sure to give Elliot ample time to admire the view. Alex pressed her lips together, loving and hating the way his eyes greedily took her in. She didn't want anyone looking at Olivia like that except for her, but she also wanted to make sure that Elliot knew exactly what he would never possess.

"When she's like this, she's so very sweet," Alex purred, leaning over and grasping Olivia's fingers and guiding her around the back of the couch. She placed the willing hand on her shoulder. "So willing to pamper me. You haven't lived until you've felt her talented fingers massaging the tension out of you."

Olivia took the cue, and was more than happy to oblige, settling her hands on the smooth skin of Alex's shoulders. She immediately felt the knots under her fingers, and put pressure on them, attempting to smooth whatever stress had put them there. She let her fingers run down the blonde's back, then up underneath the thin straps of her dress, taking care that her actions weren't too forward. She kept her eyes on her task, but felt Elliot's eyes burning into her. She had never revealed such vulnerability to her partner, at least not in such a manner, and she suddenly realized how much trust had been required of Alex to display such obedience during their earlier scenes. Still, Olivia knew as long as she kept her focus on the lovely, perfect blonde in front of her, that she would do just about anything, whether her partner was watching or not. She snuck a glance at him, and noticed the growing bulge in his pants, which gave her enough indication that he was indeed watching, and clearly enjoying himself.

Unfortunately, Elliot had no problem imagining how Olivia's fingers would feel massaging the "tension" out of him, although he wasn't thinking about his shoulders. He felt his length throb as Alex's low, seductive voice conjured images of Olivia's slender hands going to work... He shook himself and took a long sip of his wine, although he made sure to keep his eyes on Olivia over the rim of the glass. He had no idea what else Alex expected of him, but he was determined to hang on for the ride as long as possible, just in case this was the last time he would have the privilege of watching Olivia and Alex.

"She really is wonderful with her hands," Alex teased. "She knows just how to touch... tease... stroke..." Elliot's throat closed and he found it difficult to breathe.

Alex groaned, letting her head fall back as Olivia loosened her neck muscles and trying to enjoy her detective's soothing touch. Her body was humming like a livewire, bouncing between anger and arousal so fast that she couldn't keep up. She could feel Olivia's breasts moving behind her as she breathed and felt the warmth emanating from her body. "That feels exquisite, but I think I require your services elsewhere," Alex hummed, slipping her stockinged feet out of her fancy black heels. "My feet could use a massage, pet." Olivia obeyed instantly, walking back around the couch and kneeling at Alex's side. She took the blonde's right foot in her hands, pressing up against the arch with her thumbs and causing Alex to release an extremely sexy moan. The sound made Elliot nearly choke on his wine. Olivia and Alex weren't even out of their clothes yet, but the scene was already painfully arousing.

Alex appreciated the new view she'd orchestrated for herself, and let her eyes roam possessively over the kneeling brunette. Her breasts practically spilled out of her top, and Alex couldn't wait until she had the pleasure of kneading them in her own hands. She pulled her foot away and placed the other one in her Pete's hands, allowing the expert fingers to work their magic. She was pleased with her scene so far; the week had left her tense, and she needed this warm up even more than she had originally thought.

"As well as you know your partner, Detective Stabler, did you ever suspect her of being so subservient?" She leaned over and cupped Olivia's chin, bringing the soft gaze level with her own. "I certainly didn't," she said with a smile.

Olivia winced internally at her girlfirend's words, but she knew how true they were. No matter if she topped most of their scenes. She would always be completely devoted to the blonde. Alex pulled her upwards, keeping her hand cupped under her chin, and guided her onto the coffee table. The blonde's nimble fingers gently spread Olivia's knees apart, revealing a thin strip of matching red material that covered her center.

Alex stood beside her, watching as Elliot's eyes roamed towards the very area that the attorney suspected he would. She trailed a hand over Olivia's breast, kneading it gently at first, then increasing her pressure. The detective's breathing quickened, and Alex tweaked the nipple under the thin material, eliciting a satisfying moan. She turned her attention to the opposite mound, working it expertly as Elliot looked on. She noticed his eyes following her touch, and she could practically feel him imagining her fingers as his own.

"Your attention is misplaced, Detective," she scolded. "You should be staring here," she said, reaching down and pressing the red patch of fabric along Olivia's folds. "It's so exciting to watch how wet she becomes." Although she knew that she was supposed to stay silent, Olivia couldn't hold back a low moan as Alex's fingers expertly grazed against her warmth through her panties, touching nothing but stimulating everything. The tendons in her thighs extended outwards as she spread her legs even further apart, offering herself up as a gift for her lover and their guest.

Elliot thought his heart would pound out of his chest. He wanted his hands to be Alex's hands. He wanted to feel the wetness coating Alex's fingers, he wanted to peel away the sodden strip of fabric hiding Olivia from his view. He knew that it would never happen - Alex had been explicitly clear on that point - but his body wasn't listening. He couldn't stop the images from coming, and he knew that if he didn't get ahold of himself, his part in this night would end sooner than he wanted. He ripped his eyes away from Olivia's center and focused on Alex's face. The blonde ADA's eyes were dark with lust and her expression was ravenous. She looked like she wanted to eat Olivia for dinner, and Elliot wondered if she planned to do exactly that.

All three of them moaned in tandem as Alex's hand slid beneath the elastic of Olivia's panties, pushing them aside as her fingers probed forward into slick heat. They teased, skated, and stroked around all of the places where Olivia needed them. Alex was determined to torment her, partially for Elliot's benefit, but mostly because she enjoyed it when Olivia was needy. "Olivia has the most beautiful body I have ever seen, especially here... soft pink folds, so much warmth and wetness, all for me... She responds so easily to my touch, so instinctively... It's like she can't help herself. She knows who she belongs to."

Losing control of her reactions for the briefest of moments, Olivia pushed her hips forward, trying to coax Alex's fingers inside of her. Alex immediately disciplined her with a sharp pinch, and Olivia squealed at the surprising flash of pain. "I thought you promised to be on your best behavior tonight," she growled, her sophisticated elegance transforming into cold, hard dominance in a fraction of a second. "I'm disappointed." If she had been able to control her facial expressions, Olivia would have frowned, but her mouth could only hang open in pleasure as Alex expertly manipulated her.

Alex removed her fingers from the warmth of Olivia's core, and slipped them into the brunette's mouth. She lapped at her own juices, and Alex used her thumb to cup the detective's chin, pushing her back flat on the coffee table. The perfectly round breasts rose and fell quickly, and Alex made quick work of the red panties, pulling them off and dropping them onto the table next to Olivia's head. Elliot was just a little disappointed that the attorney didn't throw them his way.

Alex nudged the detective's pliant knees apart even further, fully revealing her glistening folds. "Watch how her inner thighs quiver under my touch," Alex instructed. "And that perfectly taut stomach. Watch how it ripples oh so slightly when I hit that one perfect spot."

Olivia's face burned as Alex discussed her like some kind of prized animal or showpiece, displaying her, allowing her to be examined. Even though Alex was far more used to this sort of treatment than she was, she couldn't deny the effect it was having on her body. She whimpered as Alex slowly peeled away the rest of her lingerie, sliding the negligee over her head and exposing her breasts. The tight brown buds had been hard before, but they stiffened even further at the kiss of the cool air. She risked a peek at Elliot, who was sitting across from her and trying to get a good view of everything at the same time.

Meanwhile, the ADA began removing her clothes as well, making just enough noise to attract Olivia's attention. The detective's breathing increased as inch after creamy inch of Alex's pale flesh was revealed to her. No matter how many times she saw her lover naked, the sight never failed to take her breath away and make her heart pound. Since she couldn't compliment Alex with her words, she let her desire show in her expression, her only method of communicating.

"I remember the first time I saw her naked," Alex continued her monologue, lowering the straps of her gown until she was bare from the waist up. She wore no bra, and her nipples were just as hard as Olivia's, although they were a soft rosy pink shade. The lawyer bent slightly, tugging down the rest of her dress and kicking it aside. She was pleased to see Elliot's eyes leave Olivia as she finally presented her own naked form. Alex wanted Elliot to look, to see the beauty he would never possess, but at the same time, she felt a strange sense of relief when the intensity of his gaze was directed at her instead. She knew Elliot didn't have hidden feelings for her, and his response was purely physical.

"So, Detective Stabler," Alex said, wanting to involve him in the scene as much as possible before completely shattering his fantasies of being with Olivia, "would you like to see her release for me? There are so many ways that I can make love to her..." She chose her words carefully, emphasizing the 'me' and subtly reminding Elliot that Olivia's orgasm would be for, and because of, her and only her. Not him. 'Making love' was something only Alex could share with Olivia, and no matter how much Elliot might wish to change things, his partner was taken.

Elliot tried to focus on Alex's words, as he distinctly heard her ask him a question. He was having some trouble focusing, however, as his eyes flitted back and forth between Olivia spread and completely vulnerable on the table, and Alex's incredibly regal, lithe body standing over him.

"Yes," he stuttered, knowing that he his brain had missed a few words.

"Yes, what?" Alex asked, letting her fingers trail lazily over the brunette's body, as if she wasn't aware just how much of an effect her touch was having on the trembling body beneath her. "Yes to my tongue? My fingers? My cock?"

Each option sent a flood of mounting pressure through Olivia, and she desperately wished she could clench her thighs, anything to relieve the longing she felt.

Alex looked expectantly down at Elliot, and he felt like an inexperienced school boy. He had no idea which to choose, because he had no idea which Olivia preferred, and that sudden thought unnerved him. He knew Alex was in a position to know how each of the methods at her disposal affected her girlfriend, and he envied her that.

"Uh..."

"Come on, Detective... how would you like me to fuck your partner? Or shall I help you out here?"

Alex smirked at the man's sudden silence, and she knelt in front of her girlfriend. "Why don't we try two out of the three? Olivia, sweetheart, raise up on your elbows. I want Detective Stabler to see that beautiful face of your when you come under my touch."

Olivia moved upwards, resting herself on her arms and peering down at the blue eyes that gazed up at her. She loved seeing the blonde head bob between her thighs, and the mere thought of that talented tongue teasing her to release coated her thighs with a new wetness.

"Oh, and sweetheart?" Alex contined. "You may be as vocal as you wish. And you have my permission in advance to come whenever you want."

Olivia raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. It was rare that she granted such a luxury to the attorney, and she wondered what she had done to deserve such a gift. Within a few minutes of Alex's expert touch, she was certain she would be more than grateful for it.

Alex smiled at the brunette's surprise at her generosity, and she dipped her head between the olive thighs, letting her tongue trace and probe the soft folds there. Even with a mere touch, Olivia was already squirming, and Alex was looking forward to ensuring that even if the detective didn't have to ask for permission, she would eventually be begging Alex to end her torment.

Alex smiled against the wetness, and let her tongue slide into the heat where her fingers had been only moments before. Olivia's taste was impeccable, and Alex looked forward to savoring it, letting her tongue linger and twirl inside her, pushing and probing as far as she could reach.

"Oh, God, Alex..."

The velvety sound of Olivia's voice only made her work harder, and she switched her attention briefly towards her clit, flicking it ever so softly. "Alex, you feel so good..."

The sight of Alex's head moving between Olivia's legs was just as arousing as it had been the last time, and Elliot was unable to resist unbuttoning his pants and sliding his hand inside of his boxers. Once again, he imagined that Olivia's rapturous expression and soft, pleasure-filled sighs were for him. For a moment, the awkwardness was gone, and he admired the smooth expanse of Alex's back, letting his eyes lead him up to the curtain of blonde hair tossed carelessly between her shoulderblades. He noticed the faded marks on her back, a remnant of Friday's play, and felt himself grow even harder, a thought that slightly unnerved him because he had never been aroused by that sort of thing before. He wouldn't have minded wearing Olivia's marks either, although nothing nearly so harsh as a lash appealed to him. But a bite mark or two, scratches from a particularly strenuous session...

"Oh, Alex... Alex..."

But it was Alex's name falling from Olivia's lips, not his, and he felt himself falter. Olivia's eyes were open, but they weren't focused on him. Her head was tilted forward at an uncomfortable angle so that she could watch Alex. His heart cracked a little more.

Olivia wasn't aware of her partner's distress. She was too consumed by the pre-orgasm shudders that Alex's wicked tongue was coaxing from her, along with an unbelievable amount of wetness. It amazed her how completely different this was from the last time Alex went down on her. Even though it was the same act, the mood surrounding it was completely different. Instead of gripping Alex's hair and dominating the ADA, she was stretched out like an offering, completely at her lover's mercy. Such vulnerability was on the other end of the spectrum from the pleasure she received from topping Alex, but extremely enjoyable nonetheless.

Alex pulled her tongue out of Olivia briefly, pausing to blow a stream of cool air directly on to Olivia's hardened bud. "I love having her like this, all wet and open for me, so needy. It's the most wonderful feeling in the world." Her hands gripped Olivia's hips, holding them in place as the detective wiggled beneath her, trying to seek more of Alex's warm mouth. For a moment, she moved her head to the side, ignoring Olivia's pleas for more contact. "See for yourself."

Elliot did see. He saw Olivia's lips, swollen with arousal and coated with her juices. He saw her tender pink folds and the straining red bead of her clitoris, begging to be sucked. He couldn't help imagining what it would be like to be permitted to worship Olivia with his mouth, or - God forgive him - thrust inside of her and feel her tight walls squeeze and ripple around him.

Olivia glanced briefly at Elliot, and saw something like contempt pass through his eyes as he looked at Alex, but his eyes softened immediately when they met her own. She wanted to give him a warm smile, but her body was responding solely to Alex at this point, and she wanted the blonde's mouth against her once again.

The attorney, however, seemed more occupied with Elliot, watching his expression as the man stared wantonly between Olivia's legs. "I think she wants me inside her," Alex said, turning her head back to the prone brunette. She let a finger trail up the shiny folds, trailing a telltale wetness up and over Olivia's quivering stomach.

"Yes, Alex... Please, I want you inside me."

Alex smiled. If she hadn't know any better, she would think her girlfriend's mumblings were meant solely to increase thei visitor's distress, which is exactly what she wanted. She knew, however, that her detective was simply sharing her true longings. She should have taken comfort in them, but instead they only drove the spirit of her jealousy further, and she became more intent on demonstrating her ownership over the beautiful brunette.

She rewarded the woman by letting one finger delve inside her, which was not enough to fill her by any means, but it did relieve some of the pressure. She slid into the detective's heat fully, and allowed her thumb to press against the sensitive bud above her entrance. Olivia jerked her hips at the teasing touch. She honestly had expected the attorney to be a bit more cruel tonight, but her attentiveness was proving quite rewarding. "Alex," she murmured, hoping her words would convince the blonde to give her more, "please fuck me."

"But darling, I am fucking you."

Olivia moaned as the finger inside her circled against her walls, but it wasn't nearly enough. "More. I need more of you, Alex, please."

Alex smirked as she removed her hand, lifting it to her lips and sucking the delicious coating of moisture from her fingers. She made sure to make eye contact with Elliot as she did, moaning appreciatively at the flavor and making him envy her position even more. Frustrating Elliot was proving even easier than she expected, and even though her lover didn't realize it, Olivia's unwitting requests were helping. "More of me? How do you mean?" Alex asked after she removed her fingers, trailing the wet pads over Olivia's stomach and letting the air chill the line she had left. She was rewarded with a full-body shiver from Olivia.

Olivia wasn't sure how to put her requests into words, and all she could manage was, "more - inside me... fuck me... Alex!"

"I guess that means you want my cock," she said, giving Elliot a sideways glance as she tweaked the tight bud of Olivia's right breast. She aimed a glance at the hand working beneath his pants and licked her lips for his benefit. "I don't think Elliot has any objections."

Elliot suddenly realized that he did have objections, and his hand stilled. The idea of Alex driving in to Olivia with the double-ended toy he had seen last time was extremely arousing, mostly because it was easier to insert himself in the fantasy than the other way around, and he felt himself pulse in his grip. But then Olivia's voice broke his train of thought, and his arousal cooled as she cried out Alex's name again. "Ah-lexsss, yes. Please..." she hissed, her hips bucking at the mere idea.

"You're in luck, dear heart. I happen to have it with me." Alex reached in to one of the end tables beside the couch and pulled out the same silicone dildo that they had used last time, carefully wrapped in cloth to keep it safe and clean during its time in the small storage space. She was so wet that the short end slid easily inside of her, and she saw Elliot's eyes tear away from Olivia again as she penetrated herself. She let her head fall back and moaned, giving the shaft a brief pump with her fist. Although she had done it mostly for visual effect, the motion caused the base to rub against her clit and sent a pulse of warmth around the bulb inside of her. The ADA didn't take this side of the dildo often, but on the rare occasions that she did, she enjoyed it thoroughly. There was something about Topping her Top, making Olivia writhe beneath her and plead for more, that was extremely satisfying. Her feelings were only made stronger by the flame of jealousy burning within her.

She inched over toward the prone detective, smiling at the flame of desire that she saw behind her lover's brown eyes.

Elliot saw Olivia's eyes widen with anticipation at the sight of Alex's shaft protruding towards her, and he felt himself twitch under his hand as he imagined that look of lust being solely for him. He moaned, which earned him a sharp glare from the attorney, but she softened her look with a grin as she sat down on the couch, her fake member standing at an attention that Elliot only wished he could yield.

"Olivia, sweetheart, come here," she said, reaching out for her. She angled herself on the couch, so that her back was just slightly to their visitor. She wanted him fully able to take in Olivia's emotions as she slid inside her.

She made Olivia stop in front of her, inspecting her with an approving, lustful eye, and let her hands run the length of her body, across her breasts, down her stomach and around her hips, finishing with a strong cupping to her center. Olivia instinctively spread her legs, inching her hips forward. "Darling," she said, further manipulating the detective's clit by rolling it in her fingers. She loved it when Olivia was so aroused: each fold, each piece of her was so greatly displayed, throbbing with need. "I think I've gone easy on you tonight. Why do you think that is?"

The question threw Olivia for a moment, and she wasn't exactly sure what the blue eyes that looked up at her were searching for. So, she simply said the first thought that came to her mind: "You know how much I want you. I can't wait for you. I need you now."

Alex smiled up at her. The answer had been better than she could have hoped for, and with one more look at their watcher, she could see the comment had crumbled his facade even further. "That is certainly sweet," she said. "But I'm looking for something else." Her finger moved lovingly against the outside of Olivia's thigh, a motion she always used to soothe her girlfriend after she orgasmed.

The gentle motion struck something inside the brunette, and she smiled. "Because you love me."

"That's my girl. Go ahead." Olivia's head fell back and she moaned as she lowered herself on the shaft of their toy, feeling herself twitch violently as it stretched her entrance just enough to touch the line between pleasure and pain. "Tell me how it feels," Alex ordered gently, and Olivia suddenly heard a stream of words spilling from her lips.

"So good, Alex. It feels so good... I love you. Love you inside me - God, having your cock inside me, it's amazing... I feel so loved. So secure. You fit perfectly - stretching me, filling me. Oh, Alex..."

Alex's chest swelled triumphantly as she saw the look of pure love and devotion that Olivia aimed solely at her. Elliot was watching them, but his eyes were no longer glazed with lust. His hand wasn't moving, he had stopped stroking himself. Alex recognized the look on his face, and it was pure heartbreak. For a moment, she felt slightly guilty for shattering Elliot's dreams, but she reminded herself that he had agreed to this, and he was an adult. He was responsible for his own decisions and his own actions, just like she was responsible for hers.

"Ride me, baby," the attorney urged her lover, settling her hands around Olivia's hips. "Take me deeper." She glanced at Elliot, knowing that Olivia couldn't see his stunned expression. "She feels so warm and tight around me," she told him, knowing that her words cut like the kiss of a blade, "I can feel every pulse, every ripple... every contraction." She rubbed salt in the wound by thrusting up, causing Olivia to yelp in surprise and pleasure as she rocked her hips desperately against Alex's pelvis. "And the best part..." Alex said huskily, continuing to watch Elliot as Olivia slid up and down along her length, coating it with her wetness and making soft little moans every time her body swallowed the toy, "the best part is that I'm the last and only person who can make love to her like this."

Elliot's erection had already taken a plunge, but the attorney's words sent it plummeting. The icy, smug tone, and the confident way her hips jerked upwards, couple with his partner's incoherent, devoted mumblings, sent something bubbling into his throat. He managed to swallow his grief, but Olivia tucked her head into Alex's shoulder, nipping slightly as she increased the pace of her hips, her fingernails scraping over the smooth flesh of the attorney's back.

"Ohh, Alex, baby, I'm coming," she warned, her eyes squeezed shut in pleasure. Elliot felt his spirit deflating with the increase of Olivia's desire, and he knew he was nowhere in her mind. That the only thing she was thinking of was the woman that she gripped so tightly beneath her, the woman that she squeezed not only with her hands, but the trembling muscles inside her.

He felt a sob rise again in his throat, and he knew he had to get out of that room. His place wasn't here, it would never be here, and the realization knocked the breath out of him.

"Semper fi," he whispered, underneath Olivia's escalating moans. "Semper fi," he said louder, rising in his chair.

Alex felt a mixture of joy and guilt as she heard Elliot utter his safe word. She had wondered if he would use it while planning this, but she felt a cold, grim sense of satisfaction when he finally voiced his pain. The attorney gave one more thrust upwards into Olivia, pushing her just that little bit farther, asserting her ownership, before pulling out and removing the toy. She set it on the cloth without cleaning it and headed towards her clothes, leaving Olivia naked and trembling on the couch as Elliot fumbled with his pants, zipping them up and getting to his feet.

"W-what? Alex, what's going on? Elliot?" she asked, looking confused and hurt as her partner and her lover dressed themselves, avoiding eye contact with her and each other.

"Elliot used his safe word. We're done here."

Olivia hadn't actually heard Elliot say anything over the roaring in her ears while she came, but from the dejected, pained look on his face, she could tell that something was wrong. "Wait, what happened? I don't understand -"

"Really? You honestly don't understand?" Alex snapped, and Olivia was shocked to see that her eyes were angry and hurt. Meanwhile, Elliot had turned around and was heading for the door without a goodbye, unable to spare even one glance back at the woman he could never have, the woman that had broken his heart. He didn't know what he was doing here. He didn't even know who he was anymore. This wasn't what he was about - he was supposed to be honorable, good, and above all, truthful. Lately, he had been anything but. The irony of his safe word stung him bitterly, and he wiped away tears as he shut the door to Apartment 4D a little louder than he had intended.

He couldn't remember the last time he had cried.

Back in the apartment, Olivia clutched her lingerie over her chest and crossing her legs, confused and filed with pain even though she didn't understand what was happening. Her pain was an echo of the heartbreak on Alex's face. "You owe me an explanation," she said as Alex gave up putting her cocktail dress back on and whirled in the direction of the hallway, stalking angrily towards the bedroom. Olivia dropped the clothes in her arm and leapt to her feet, ignoring the way her legs shook. She felt weak as a kitten after her orgasm, but she didn't let that stop her. "Don't walk away from me."

By the time she had followed the blonde into the bedroom, Alex had shrugged a thin, black robe over her shoulders. Normally, the garment made the detective want to peel it off the tall, lithe body, but at the moment she was confused, and a little hurt. And more than determined to get to the bottom of Elliot's abrupt exit.

"Alex," she repeated.

"Get dressed, Olivia," the attorney replied, tossing Olivia her own robe. Her voice was tinged with a tired weariness.

Olivia reached out and grabbed her girlfriend's wrist. "The scene is over, Alex," she said sharply, not bothering to put on the robe. "What the hell just happened out there with Elliot?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "You didn't seem that concerned with him when you were riding my cock." She immediately regretted her words, catching the hurt that flickered through the brown eyes, the same eyes that had just a few moments earlier stared up at her with complete trust.

Olivia dropped her hand, and pulled the robe slowly over her shoulders. Her confusion was slowly turning into anger. "If you couldn't handle this," she said, lowly, "you should have told me."

Alex's mouth parted in pure disbelief, and she couldn't help the bitter laughed that escaped. "Me?" she asked, her voice dangerously high. "Olivia, are you really so obtuse? It wasn't me that couldn't handle it - it was Elliot, for fuck's sake."

"Tell me what happened. What did you do, Alex?"

"Why are you making this about me?" the ADA demanded sharply. "This is about him. It's always been about him... If you care so much, why don't you go after him?"

The level of Olivia's voice remained relatively stable, but her face was flushed with anger instead of arousal. "Not until you tell me what's going on."

Alex knew that it wasn't her place to reveal Elliot's secret, but he had basically given everything away and ended their truce by walking out on the scene. Things weren't going to be resolved until everything was out on the table. "Olivia, Elliot is in love with you." Her voice broke on the word love and she couldn't meet Olivia's eyes. "He's always been in love with you. How could you not have known?" Olivia felt something inside her drop. If she had heard such a revelation only two hours earlier, she never would have believed it. But now, after Elliot's abrupt exit, the way he and Alex had seemed to engage during the scene, she felt as if someone had pulled the rug out from under her, and her knees began to shake.

"What?" She shook her head. "No, Alex, no." Elliot was her best friend, the closest friend she'd had in years. She didn't want all of that history, the close moments that they share, to be negated because of some misguided crush. She wanted her friend back. "If you wanted our arrangement to end, you could have just been honest. You don't have to make things up."

Alex stared at her girlfriend, her words failing her. She felt water building in her eyes, and suddenly wetness trailed down her cheeks. She had never felt so angry, so lost, and her frustration was now spilling out of her. She turned her head, and quickly swiped at her cheeks, not wanting Olivia to mistake her tears for concession. "Olivia... What makes you think you're not so easy to fall in love with? He's been in love with you this whole time. I thought I could handle it."

"Handle what?" Olivia's brain was having trouble processing their conversation. All she knew was that everything she thought she knew was no longer true.

Alex's face softened at the detective's clear confusion and hurt, and she adjusted her tone as she continued, attempting to sort through her own actions that had lead them here. "I thought I could handle him being in love with you. I knew before we started seeing each other. I thought I could handle having him as our third. Like you always say, he's a good guy. But both of them together... it was just too much." Alex's flare of temper had burned out, leaving only pain and emptiness sewn with a thread of guilt. She knew that what she had done to Elliot was wrong. She should have calmly ended their arrangement and encouraged him to deal for his feelings with Olivia on his own, or by talking to his wife. The ADA had been so blinded by jealousy that she hadn't cared about hurting Elliot as long as he got the message - Olivia was hers, and he didn't stand a chance.

"I thought I knew him," Olivia said, searching her memories for some kind of hint, some clue that would explain this sudden revelation. There were signs, she supposed, but the idea of Elliot being in love with her had never entered the realm of possibility in her mind. Coworkers occasionally insinuated things about them, but she dismissed it at precinct gossip. She hadn't known there was a grain of truth to the rumors. The detective lowered herself backwards onto the bed, lying across it horizontally. "If he lo - if Elliot has feelings for me," she corrected herself, unable to use the word 'love' in this situation, "that means you... Alex, what we just did was..."

"Cruel," Alex finished her sentence. "Painful. Heartbreaking. I know. I meant for it to be." She sighed. "I shouldn't have done it. Part of me regrets it." She didn't mention the other part of her that was filled with a fierce, possessive joy that Olivia was all hers again. It was a hollow feeling, and she knew that it was meaningless in the grand scheme of things. "I'll apologize to Elliot when I can look at him again."

Olivia looked up at the attorney. "When you can look at him again? Alex, what we did was horrible." Her voice broke, and she paused, taking a breath. How had she not known? How had she been blind to something that seemed so obvious to everyone else? How could she claim to know her friend so well if she had missed his feelings for her? She felt guilt rise in her, and a slow anger burning as she looked up at her girlfriend, and remembered the words that she had uttered during their scene. She had believed them to come from some deep place of love, but instead they had come from an intent to hurt her closest friend. She shook her head, rising once gain on unsteady feet, and heading towards the closet, pulling her robe tighter around her.

"Olivia," Alex said, reaching out to her, internally flinching as the brunette pulled away from her.

"I want to be alone," she said, pulling a pair of pants and a t-shirt out of a drawer. "I can't do this right now."

"Do what? Olivia, please, it's me." Alex's mistake felt all too horribly real, but she had a horrible fear that she had pushed her girlfriend towards the very person she was trying to keep her away from. "Olivia, don't go to him."

The detective turned back to her, dropping the robe off of her shoulders, and pulling on her clothes. "I'm not going to him," she said flatly. There was no way she could. She was feeling betrayed, by both her girlfriend and her closest friend, and that coupled with the guilt she felt towards both of them, only made her want to be alone. She had hurt Alex by continuing to allow Elliot into their bedroom, oblivious to his true feelings, and she had let her friend down by leading him into something incredibly hurtful. She felt a sob rising in her chest, and swallowed it back down, reaching for a pair of shoes. She turned, forcing herself to face Alex, who stared over at her from her slumped position on the bed.

"Olivia," she began, but trailed off, not knowing exactly what would help. "I'm sorry."

The detective moved towards the bedroom door. "I think we're all sorry." And with that, she was gone.

...

Chapter Ten:

Elliot stood in the back yard, admiring his work. It was Sunday morning, and he had spent it fixing the concrete porch step, which had cracked from water damage after a particularly bad snowstorm last winter. He had made a promise to Kathy, and unlike his marriage vows, he intended to keep this one. She deserved something good from him, at least, even if it was small. The next item on his agenda was the fence in the back yard. He had spent Saturday night alone, unable to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. When he did, he dreamed of Olivia, and woke up with his heart pounding and his eyes stinging. Nothing was the same anymore. He had been able to deal with his feelings for her once upon a time, rationalizing and ignoring them, but watching Alex and Olivia had brought them all to the surface again, like reopening a wound.

He was hurt because Olivia didn't love him, would never love him. He was hurt because Alex, who he mistakenly thought was his friend, had driven that point home even though she knew about his feelings and made him feel worthless for her own selfish reasons. He was hurt because he had betrayed Kathy, even though he knew that was a selfish pain compared to the pain his wife would feel when he confessed to her. But he had to confess to her. Elliot had seen a lot during his time at SVU, and sometimes he knew that telling a spouse about an affair was only painful for the person being cheated on while the cheater was relieved of guilt after admitting what they had done. In some circumstances, it was better to keep things like that in the dark where they belonged, with the adulterer bearing their guilt silently so that their spouse wouldn't be touched by the ugliness of the affair. This wasn't one of those times. Elliot had gotten in to this mess without being honest, and he didn't want to be that person anymore.

Kathy had trusted him with Olivia during every late call, every night spent away from home, every shift he worked at SVU. He knew he spent more hours with his partner than with Kathy, and maybe that explained some of his feelings, but part of it was his refusal to squash them down. He had hoarded them away instead of dealing with them like an adult, and now it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

Elliot sighed and looked at the step, satisfied with his work in this small, simple task, and headed for the back yard. He had a fence to fix before his wife got home. He only hoped she would still be his wife after he told her what he had done.

...

Alex wiped the sweat from her brow as she kicked open the door to her apartment. The two hour run she'd just completed had felt good, but the high had faded by the time she made it back to her empty apartment. She could count on two hands the number of times she'd spent the night alone in the past three months. Last night had been one of them. After Olivia had left her own apartment, Alex had changed back into her cocktail dress, slipped on her heels, and caught a cab home, culminating her walk of shame before 11:00pm. She had no idea where her girlfriend had gone, and her repeated calls simply went unanswered. She knew Olivia was hurting, and probably needed some time to sort out the confession that Alex had made on Elliot's behalf, but that didn't ease the worry that coursed through her as the night waned, and she still had no contact from the detective.

She had awoken on her couch close to six, still in her dress, though her heels had been discarded at the end of the sofa. She showered, dressed, ran, and was now showering again, and still no word from Olivia. The tightness in her chest that she'd managed to eliminate during her run returned, and she had half a mind to wait outside the detective's apartment door and force the woman to talk to her. But, she didn't have that right anymore, did she? She had ruined that the moment she had decided to use Olivia to torment Elliot. She sighed, and ran her palms across her face, allowing the water from the shower head to wash over her, hoping the sound would crowd out the guilty thoughts that ran through her head on a constant, painful loop.

What the hell were they supposed to do tomorrow at work? Would Elliot and Olivia talk things out before then? Would one of them call in? Whatever their decision, she knew she would stay the hell out of that precinct on Monday.

...

Olivia stared over at the empty space across from her desk, and couldn't help but focus on the framed picture of Kathy and the girls that sat next to Elliot's computer. It was turned away from her, but she had seen it enough times to know exactly what it looked like: Kathy kneeling in the front, beaming, her arms outstretched around a row of beautiful, smiling children. Olivia had teased Elliot endlessly that he was always the one taking the pictures in the family, and thus was never actually in any of them. She shook the thoughts from her head, and turned her attention to the paperwork that sat in front of her, that she had successfully ignored for most of her shift. She had turned on her computer as a show of good faith, but hadn't so much as touched it. She had switched shifts with Fin at the last minute, who had accepted unusually graciously, as if he had almost expected the request. She didn't push it, and instead was simply grateful. There was no way she could face Elliot come Monday. Not yet.

She had to talk to him eventually, wanted to even, but she was sure he didn't want to see her. She and Alex had not only wounded his pride, she had crushed him, and felt as if she had betrayed the closest friend she'd ever known. He hadn't bothered to call. Alex, on the other hand, had phoned her over a dozen times since the night before, but Olivia didn't have the strength to balance her sincere guilt over Elliot with Alex's own jealousy. The two seemed to be mutually exclusive, and she hadn't even sorted out her own feelings yet. She had finally texted Alex over lunch, extending somewhat of an olive branch, but mostly just to let the blonde know she was okay. Despite her anger, she still desperately cared for the attorney, and in some way knew that she had let her girlfriend down, too.

Amidst all her confusion, though, she felt like a pawn in a game that she hadn't even known she'd been playing. And that, the betrayal, would take some time to sort out. She sighed, putting her hands in her head. Time. If only they could all go back in time.

...

As the numbers on the television clock crept slowly upwards, Elliot fidgeted on the couch. It was Sunday evening and Kathy was due home soon. Any minute, in fact. And that meant he needed to tell her. He had thought about waiting, but considering everything that had gone wrong so far, he knew that he needed to talk with her as soon as possible. He didn't think Alex or Olivia would betray him again, intentionally or unintentionally, but he couldn't be sure, and either way the guilt was eating at him. It didn't help that Kathy might already be suspicious thanks to Fin's conversation with her on Friday night. Most of all, Elliot knew he couldn't go on like this - couldn't go on without changing something. This unstable situation couldn't last. Alex and Olivia weren't speaking with him, so the only person he could start to make amends with was Kathy. He prayed that this wouldn't blow up in his face as badly as the scene on Saturday night.

He heard the car pull up in the driveway first and the low groan of the garage door lifting. The sound of footsteps on concrete was next, and then the side door opening into the mud room. One by one, his kids dragged their tired little bodies in to the house and through the living room. It was late, and Elliot was glad to see their faces. No matter what happened, he wanted his kids to be all right most of all. If Kathy wanted a divorce - the mere thought of the word divorce made him shudder - he wouldn't blame her. But there was no way he would let his kids down or be absent from their lives. "Hey guys. How was Grandma's?"

"Good," Maureen yawned, the most awake of the four children. She stepped forward and bent down to give her father a hug.

"Mom told us to go to bed," Dickie said to his older sister, pointing at the stairs. "You had your turn, I want to hug Dad!"

"Mom told you to go to bed," Maureen corrected. She was old enough not to have a bed time, but not old enough to be able to resist baiting her younger sibling. However, she stepped aside and allowed Dickie and Lizzie to get through for their own hugs.

"Dickie showed me how to play soldiers," Lizzie told Elliot, and he smiled and kissed her forehead. Then, he ruffled Dickie's hair.

"That's my boy. You take good care of your sister."

Kathleen came in last beside her mother, and Elliot felt the knot in his chest pull even tighter at the sight of his wife. He tried to give her a smile and hoped that none of the children could tell it was fake. Kathy looked at him curiously for a moment, but smiled back as Kathleen came to get her hug. "Hi, Dad. Grandma's was good," she said, the only conversation she was awake enough to make. It only took another minute to send the four children to bed, and they dragged themselves up the stairs noisily, eager for a more comfortable place to sleep than the car.

Finally, Kathy gave Elliot her hug, a little surprised at how tightly he embraced her and how long he took to let go. She didn't mind, but it was a little strange. "Hey there. Did you get that step fixed?"

"You've been more than productive, then," she said, leaning into him and giving him a kiss. She deepened it, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer, not caring that she was tired from the drive. She simply wanted the security of being near her husband. She frowned as he pulled away from her, gingerly taking her arms from around his neck and holding them gently in his large hands. "Kathy," he said, his voice low. "We need to talk."

They weren't words that any wife wanted to hear, especially not her, not after spending the entire drive attempting to push her intrusive thoughts out of her head. She pulled her arms out of his grip and stared up at him, with an already knowing eye. "What is it?" she asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

He pulled her into the living room, and sat her down on the couch, taking a seat on the coffee table in front of her. He wrung his hands in his lap, and she would've chuckled at his nervousness if she hadn't spent her weekend dreading this very conversation. Whatever Elliot was about to tell her, she was sure it was something that had already passed through her mind over the past few years of his partnership with Olivia. "Kathy," he began, his voice merely a whisper. "I made a mistake. It's not what you think, but it was still a mistake, and I never should have done it."

Everything was quiet for her, and she filtered out anything but the sound of his voice, and the look of his eyes as they stared back at her, full of remorse. "What?" she croaked, wishing her voice had been stronger. "Elliot, what did you do?"

The question stumped him for a moment. What exactly had he done? So much betrayal, so much confusion, and yet he hadn't done much of anything, physically. He swallowed. "A couple of weekends ago - "

"The last time I visited my mother," she interrupted.

" - yes, the last time you visited her." He swallowed again, and wished he had a glass of water near him. Or better yet, a bottle of bourbon. "I was asked to participate in a... I was asked to watch..." He took a deep breath. "Olivia asked me to watch her and her girlfriend have sex, and I agreed." He pursed his lips, pausing to gauge his wife's response. It was not what he had been expecting.

Kathy felt the laughter bubble in her throat, and it slipped out of her in what became a sob. Whatever she had been expecting Elliot to tell her, this certainly hadn't been it. Relief, anger, hurt, and sheer, utter confusion muddled through her, ripping out of her in bewildered laughter. "What?" she asked, almost breathless. "What the hell are you talking about?" Her voice took on a darker tone, and her pained laughter stopped as she caught sight of Elliot's serious, guilty expression. "Elliot." She leaned away from him instinctively. "What are you saying?"

Elliot had pictured this exchange a little differently. Hushed words, tears, groveling. He hadn't expected to have to explain so much. But, then again, he wasn't even sure if he could explain it for himself. "A few weeks ago, I went over to Olivia's apartment to deliver some paperwork," he began, diligently leaving out the exact reason he had gone over in the first place. "I used my key, and I walked in on Olivia and her girlfriend having sex."

Kathy gave a confused shake of her head. "Olivia's gay?"

Elliot nodded, not wanting to harp more than he had to over the fact that Olivia had never, would never, consider him a viable option. "A few days later, she and her girlfriend invited me to watch them again. And I did." Kathy's mouth dropped open, and he preempted her. "I didn't participate. I just watched."

The laugh that had bubbled inside her earlier now morphed into a chest tightening pain, and Kathy had trouble breathing through her next question, which came out more as a wheeze. "You watched?"

Elliot was silent, and he realized how pathetic he sounded.

"You watched two women have sex? You watched your partner have sex?"

Elliot had been silent, but he might as well put the final nail in his coffin. "Olivia and Alex Cabot."

Kathy's face twisted, as if she were trying to comprehend her husband's words. "Your ADA? You watched you partner and your ADA have sex with each other? What the hell are you thinking? This could jeopardize your job, Elliot. You put me, the kids, the house, all of at risk, for what? Why would you do this?" Her question echoed in the silence, and she knew. Elliot wasn't someone to risk everything for a simple porn fantasy, and she suddenly got it. He had done it for Olivia. Her hand shot out before she could stop it, and the slap resounded in the quiet of the living room. She saw her husband's eyes water, whether from remorse or from the sting of her hand, she didn't know. She didn't want to know. She stood, glowering down at him, hoping her own tears would wait until she was safely upstairs. "You can sleep down here tonight," she said. "Tomorrow, I want you out."

He grasped for her as she tried to sidle past him, and his grip was desperate. "Kathy wait, we need to talk about this."

She shook her head, swiping a balled fist against her watery eyes. "We don't need to talk about this. And don't you dare play the martyr here. You think because you came to me and told me about this, that we're just going to talk about it, make up, and have sex? What, so you can fuck your wife and imagine your partner?" A sob ripped from her throat and she put a hand to her mouth, yanking her arm out of his hand. "I don't want to see you in the morning," she said.

"Kathy -"

"No, Elliot. Let me go. We're done."

Elliot knew that she meant done with their relationship, not just done with the conversation. Kathy had always been smart. He should have known that she would see straight through him and realize the true motivations behind his actions. Knowing there was nothing else he could do, at least not now, he let her go upstairs by herself, sinking onto the couch and burying his face in his hands. For the second time, he cried.

...

"Olivia, open the door." There was no response from inside Apartment 4D. "Come on, Liv. I know you're in there. I checked your work schedule." When Olivia still didn't answer, Alex let her forehead fall against the door with a loud thud. "You can't keep hiding. I can hear you moving around behind the door," she said, lying in one last effort to coax Olivia to come out. She didn't have any definitive proof that Olivia was actually on the other side of the door, but what the detective didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Alex's heart leapt into her throat as she heard the deadbolt turn. Olivia opened the door and peered out at her girlfriend - former girlfriend? They hadn't broken up, but they weren't speaking either - leaving the chain in place. "Go home, Alex. I don't want to talk to you right now," she said, but from the sliver of Olivia's face that Alex could see, she knew that her lover was hurting, and she wanted to begin making things right.

Knowing how stubborn her detective was, Alex shoved the toe of her shoe in the door, wedging it open so that Olivia couldn't change her mind. "Don't try closing the door on me," she warned, "not until I've said what I came here to say." She hoped that Olivia didn't get even angrier at her and ruin her heels, since the price tag on them was higher than Alex cared to admit. "Look, I fucked up. I got jealous, and instead of talking to you or Elliot about it like a rational adult, I acted like a spoiled brat. I shouldn't have broken Elliot's heart by rubbing our relationship in his face, and I shouldn't have manipulated you into doing it. I could make a whole speech about how sorry I am and how guilty I feel, and how I would take it all back if I could, but none of that is worth a damn. The reason I'm here is because you're hurting, and..." she faltered for a moment. "And I love you, so I want to help. Knowing that I can't comfort you is the worst. I know I don't deserve it, especially since it's my fault, but you do. You deserve to have someone hold you and tell you everything's okay. And I know you won't let anyone but me do that, even though we're fighting... so... that's why I'm here."

Olivia's face remained unreadable throughout Alex's monologue, but when she was finished, she nudged the attorney's foot out of the way and shut the door. For a moment, Alex thought that she had left her standing out in the hall, but then she heard the sound of the chain being unhooked, and the door swung back open. "I guess I can't let you stand out there at 3:00 AM on a Monday morning."

Olivia let Alex inside and shut the door behind her, resting her head against the doorframe for a moment before turning to face the attorney. She was bedraggled, her eyes puffy, but was dressed in a skirt and jacket, as if she were heading straight to the office. Compared to the detective's own tank and sweats, she was a vision of professionalism, despite the ungodly hour. Alex acknowledged her clothing with a shake of her head. "I was prepared to stand outside your door up until you opened it or until my motion hearing with Petrovsky," she said, somewhat sheepishly.

Olivia brushed past her, heading towards the living room. "Well, you can at least catch a couple of hours of sleep."

Alex followed her, not content with merely gaining access to the brunette's apartment. She wanted to establish some communication. Anything to let her know how she was coping. "I don't want to sleep," she protested, standing over the couch as Olivia resumed the position she had occupied for the last several hours. She looked up at the blonde, exhaustion fully ingrained in her face.

"Alex, now is not the best time. Get some sleep, and we'll talk tomorrow." She turned her attention back to the muted television, allowing herself to get lost in the silent, moving action on the screen.

Alex sat on the coffee table in front of her, a second wind of energy brightening her eyes. "Look, Olivia, I know I have no right to ask this of you, but please just talk to me," she pleaded. "I'm sorry for behaving the way I did, but I know you're hurting, and I just want to help. I want to fix this."

Olivia finally met her eyes, and gave her a small, sad smile. "Alex," she said despondently, "if you had learned anything from last night, I would have expected it to be that you can't control everything." She let out a heavy sigh before continuing. "You thought you could control me, control Elliot, but that's not how it works. What happened last night is hurtful on so many levels, and I just need time to sort it all out, okay? You can't just fix it." Her words were honest, but that didn't mean they hurt any less, and she saw the pain that flickered across the ADA's trembling jaw.

Alex stood, feeling selfishly stupid, her guilt having driven her to a new low, some ridiculous demand for closure. "You're right," she whispered. "I'm gonna go." She said it plainly, without remorse, solely with understanding, and began to step away, but a hand caught her wrist.

"Alex, you don't have to go," Olivia said quietly, looking up at her. "It's late. Just get some sleep. Okay?"

The attorney nodded, not wanting to press her luck any further. Although she desperately wanted the reassurance of Olivia's arms around her, she knew that wouldn't come, at least not that particular night. She turned, heading towards the bedroom, leaving Olivia to wrestle with her emotions for as long as she needed.

...

Elliot felt his eyes blurring over once again, and he took a long sip of his coffee. He had already nursed three cups as he'd stared across his desk towards the empty space usually occupied by his partner. He should have known she would call in, or find another schedule, anything to keep from having to sit across from him all day. If he had any additional remorse left in his body, he would have lamented the fact that he missed their easy banter, her jokes, and crude laughter. But he had spent a sleepless night in the crib, spent heaving tearless sobs over the destruction I his marriage. At his own hand, no less [ha, literally]. He had thought about sleeping on his couch, but the thought of subjecting his wife to seeing him, recalling his betrayal the next morning while rushing the kids off to school, seemed too unfair to him. So he'd fled to the only place he could, seeing as his key to his partner's apartment was now useless.

He sat, the precinct bustling around him as he mourned the life he led just two weeks ago. Neither of the two people he usually counted on for comfort could be there for him. He had made sure of that. He could only think of one other person who may be sympathetic enough to hear him out. He raised himself from his chair, for the first time since that morning, and made his way toward the one person he had absolutely no desire to see.

Several minutes later, he found himself standing outside of a thick office door, reading and rereading the letters on its nameplate: 'ADA Cabot'. He knew this wasn't a good idea, but he had to talk to someone, and his partner and wife were unavailable. Even though she had been the one that hurt him, Alex was the only other person that might be able to offer some sympathy and understanding. It took him a while to work up the courage to knock on the door, but when he did, Alex called out for him to come in after one rap. The attorney was sitting at her desk, her hair slightly messier than usual as she pushed aside her paperwork to look up at her visitor. "Elliot?" she said, surprised to see the detective standing in her office. In fact, he was the last person she had expected to stop by for a visit.

"Alex, can we talk?" Elliot shut the door behind him when the ADA didn't show any negative reactions towards him. "Personally."

The attorney studied him intensely for a moment, and then motioned for him to come closer. "Sure. I wanted to talk to you anyway, but didn't have the guts to seek you out."

"Have you talked to Olivia?" The former Marine couldn't help asking. "I just... I don't want her to be upset or alone in this."

Instead of being jealous, Alex was touched by Elliot's concern. He had made a lot of mistakes - all of them had - but his heart was in the right place most of the time. "She's angry at me and confused with you. She had no idea that you were in love with her, so it came as a bit of a shock." Elliot felt the last flicker of hope in his heart extinguish itself. Olivia hadn't known, had never even considered the possibility. It was completely foreign to her. Logically, he had known that, but it was a painful realization nonetheless.

"Why is Olivia angry with you?"

Alex had the decency to look ashamed. She stood up and came around to the other side of the desk. The least she could do was offer Elliot a sincere apology for what she had done. "Elliot, I knew about your feelings for Olivia, and I thought I could handle it, but what happened between us... it stirred emotions in me I couldn't control. I got jealous, and instead of doing the responsible thing and discussing my problems, I used our arrangement to hurt you. It was an awful thing to do, and I wish I could take it back. I'm sorry."

Elliot had known what Alex was up to that night on some level, but after the abrupt ending to their scene, he had been more concerned with how he was going to confess to his wife and the fact that Olivia would never return his love. He hadn't put all of the pieces together. "I'm sorry, too. I'm not sure what to apologize for first, since it seems like everything I try to do ends up turning out wrong, but I'm sorry..."

The ADA took a step closer to him, seeing the strain on his face and the bags under his eyes. "I think all of us screwed up. Olivia and I never should have asked you to watch us. It was wrong to put you in that position with your wife, and we - I should have been more considerate of your feelings."

The detective sighed. "It wasn't all your fault. I could have said no..."

"Not many people can say no to Olivia Benson. Sometimes I don't think she's of this world. You're only human."

"Kathy kicked me out last night," Elliot told her, blurting it out before he could think. "I think she wants a divorce. I definitely know that she doesn't want anything to do with me... I don't even think it's the fact that I watched two women have sex that bothers her -"

"It's that one of those women was Olivia," Alex finished for him. "El, I'm so sorry." Putting aside the last of her bitterness and anger, Alex opened her arms and gave Elliot a tight hug. With the awkward, painful part out of the way for now, Elliot accepted the embrace with relief. At least someone knew where he was coming from right now. Someone cared. It meant more than he could put into words.

"Are you and Olivia going to be okay?" The last thing Elliot wanted was for two relationships to be destroyed. His own marriage might be about to collapse out from under him, but maybe Olivia and Alex still had a chance.

"I don't know. I hope so. She let me stay at her apartment last night, just to sleep. She got so angry once she realized what I had done to you. You and Olivia can get past this, Elliot. I don't think it will be easy, but you're her friend, and you know she's the last person to abandon a friend when they need her."

It was the first glimmer of hope he'd had all day, and he hugged the blonde tighter just because of it. Still, it did nothing to assuage the fact his mistake had cost him his marriage. He pulled away, and Alex read the look on his face perfectly. She had recognized it on her own as she looked into the mirror at Olivia's apartment: resigned fear.

"Elliot, things aren't over with Kathy. You two have built an entire life together, and I don't think she'll let one mistake destroy all of that."

He took a step back from her, and slumped into a chair. "I love Kathy. I've loved her for eighteen years. I love my kids. I just wish I could go back in time. I don't even know who that person is, that watched the two of you."

Alex leaned back on her desk, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked down at him in sympathy. "Elliot, people make mistakes in eighteen years. You were honest with her, and on some level, that's honorable."

He shook his head. "I couldn't even get her to listen to me, Alex. She's heartbroken. I didn't even get to tell her the full story. How I came to realize just how in the wrong place I was. She won't take my calls. I just want to show her that the person that's existed for the past few weeks just isn't me. I love her, I love the kids."

"You love Olivia." The blue eyes that looked down on him were empathetic, and not jealous.

He sighed. "I do. But this whole nightmare showed me that I've been in love with a person that I didn't truly know." He swallowed. "I loved her so much that I didn't even see her for who she was." He squinted back up at Alex. "I just want to fix this."

She sighed a laugh at him, recognizing her own desire to put things right as quickly as possible. "I know," she said. "I know."

...

Chapter Eleven:

Alex stepped out of the car, staring up at the house in front of her. It was quaint, but nice-sized, with a front yard that had clearly been trampled by children's footsteps over a number of years. There was a car in the driveway, and Alex hoped she'd catch Kathy alone. She wasn't usually one to make unannounced house calls, but she figured there'd be no way on earth Elliot's wife would speak with her over the phone. If she couldn't fix her own relationship, she could at least help mend the one she'd helped rip apart.

She took a deep breath, exhaling away her fear, which was paramount to the feeling she got before facing an especially vicious judge. She was glad she'd taken the time to stop by her boss' office for a drink before heading out midday to rescue the marriage of a woman she'd met only once, in passing, years ago. She straightened her blouse, which was more disheveled than she had thought, and then shrugged. The look would work for her today, at least.

The doorbell sounded under the pad of her finger, and she waited apprehensively, her heart beating in her chest, as if she were Kathy's husband coming back with her tail between her legs. She recognized her nervousness for what it was: guilt, acknowledgment, and repentance. And probably that shot of scotch on an empty stomach.

The door opened, and Kathy's brown eyes seemed pleasant for a moment, before clouding over with recognition. Alex quickly spoke, if only to keep the door from slamming in her face. "Mrs. Stabler," she began, putting a hand out to her, as if begging for an audience. "You have every right to shut me out, and I won't blame you, but I just need five minutes of your time." Alex waited, attempting to read the woman in front of her, but she was hard to crack, her expression a mask of stone.

The woman stepped back away from the door, giving Alex enough room to slide through to the foyer. "You've got half an hour," she said. "I want you gone when my kids get home."

Alex nodded obediently, feeling much like a schoolgirl as Kathy appraised her before motioning her down the front hallway towards the kitchen. The home was pleasant, cozy, and each room had some scattered sign of the love that bonded the family that lived there: a father's day card on the mantle, framed photographs along the wall, children's artwork hung on the refrigerator. Kathy stopped at the kitchen table, and extended her hand towards a chair, which Alex took immediately.

"Would you like some tea?" Kathy looked just as confused by her offer as the attorney was, as if she wasn't exactly sure what the proper etiquette was in such a situation. Alex shook her head.

"No, thank you, I'm - I'm okay."

The older woman nodded, and took a reluctant seat in front of Alex. Again, the ADA took the lead. "Mrs. Stabler, I'm so very sorry for everything that's happened. That I've - we've - done. I'm not here to explain myself - "

Kathy's eyes pitched forward, and she stared with a dangerous curiosity. "No, Ms. Cabot. By all means, please do explain yourself. Tell me exactly what the hell you were thinking inviting my husband into your bedroom."

Alex startled, caught off guard, and her voice failed her for a moment. "I - it started with just an accident. Elliot happened to walk in on the two of us - "

"You and Olivia?"

"Yes." She paused, feeling a flush creep into her neck. It was one thing to act on a sexual desire, and completely another to explain it. "It just seemed to ignite us. Having someone there, watching, seeing us as who we were, expressing something so... personal." Alex shrugged helplessly. "It was a stupid decision, but we thought if we were going to have someone there, it might as well be someone we trust." She cringed at her words, which weren't describing her narrative very well at all.

Kathy nodded. "Ever stop to think that it was someone I trusted, too?"

"I honestly thought he told you." The words were flat, and she wondered how naive she had been to think that Elliot had okayed such an arrangement with the wife, mother, PTA President that sat before her. She shook her head at her own stupidity.

Kathy laughed, a bit cruelly. "Oh, Ms. Cabot, you have a lot to learn about men."

Anger flashed briefly through Alex's eyes, but she choked it back. Now was not the time to parse through her relationship history. "Mrs. Stabler, Elliot is completely torn up about this. He loves you, and he just wants the chance to prove it to you again."

Kathy's eyes shifted, and for a moment Alex thought she had reached something inside her, but when they returned to her, they were full of fire. "Ms. Cabot, with all due respect, I don't think you know a thing about my husband. You waltz in here with your expensive shoes, your haircut that probably cost more than my kids' entire wardrobe, and you expect me to listen to your stilted advice about my marriage? Whatever you and Olivia Benson have going on, I honestly don't give a flying fuck. But don't rope my husband into it, rip my marriage to shreds, and lecture me at my own kitchen table."

Alex felt her stomach lurch as Kathy confronted her with the seriousness of what she had done. The room began to spin, but she tried to pull herself to her feet, feeling bile burn in the back of her throat as she lurched forward, throwing her arms out to try and find something to grip for support. "I - I think... I think I'm going to be sick," she slurred, almost tripping in her heels as she bolted towards the kitchen sink since she had no idea where the bathroom was and retching over the silver basin.

The attorney dry-heaved into the sink until her stomach muscles burned. She was vaguely aware of a hand resting between her shoulder blades, but all she could think was that she was sorry... so sorry. None of this ever should have happened. In a few selfish hours, she had lost the love of her life, broken a good man's heart, destroyed his wife's entire world, and possibly ruined the home of four children. It was all too much to bear.

Finally, the gagging stopped, and Alex was grateful that, aside from a few clear ribbons of scotch and stomach acid, that there was nothing else for it to purge. It was more painful without anything to expel, but less messy. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, keeping her eyes closed so that the room wouldn't start moving around her again and cause her to throw up. "I'm so sorry... I didn't think - I didn't know -"

"Breathe for a minute," came a calm voice from behind her. Alex was shocked to see that Kathy had followed her instincts as a mother and nurse and was trying to comfort her despite who she was and the way she had hurt her family. "Keep your head down, let me get you a washcloth." Alex obediently kept her head bowed as Kathy turned on warm water in the sink and reached for a dish towel, which she soaked under the stream. She shuddered when she felt Kathy place the wet towel on the back of her neck. The warmth and weight comforted her, and she tried to ignore the slight chill of water droplets evaporating from her skin.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated once she was sure that her stomach wouldn't betray her again. "This is all my fault."

Kathy sighed. "Let me get you a glass of water. Stay there."

"Thank you," Alex croaked, her voice breaking. Her throat stung and it hurt to speak, but the water would help. Within another minute, she was calm and sipping at her water. "He was the one who ended it," she blurted out as she set the glass down on the counter beside the sink. "I'm not sure what that means to you, but it's something. During the last scene, he was so uncomfortable that he used his safe word and left."

The nurse's eyes widened. "Safe word? What exactly were you doing?"

Alex blushed, and she hoped that her unwilling host would blame the bright red color of her cheeks on her dry heaves. "Sometimes," she started, completely unsure how to explain something so private to a woman who was practically a stranger to her, "sometimes it makes Olivia and I feel more connected to each other when I submit to her. I usually allow her to mark me, to bind me in some way, and sometimes to spank me." She was grateful for the several years of sex crimes trials under her belt. It made it slightly easier to force the words out. "It's not about pain or humiliation... it's about trust."

Trust. As soon as she said the word, Alex wished that she could take it back. Trust was the thing that Elliot had broken with Kathy, and that she had broken with him and Olivia. "Elliot is a good man, Kathy. The BDSM aspects had nothing to do with why he was there. And all three of us agreed that he needed to tell you what was going on. Olivia and I never intended to keep you in the dark, and I'm sure Elliot didn't either. He just didn't know how to tell you."

Kathy studied her for a long moment, keeping silent, and Alex took that as a sign that she should keep going. "He has had feelings for Olivia for years, but never once did they make him stray from you until now. He stayed here because he loves you and your family. He said something to me today... he said that this experience showed him that he was in love with a woman that he didn't even know. He wasn't even in love with Olivia, just the idea of her. His fantasy of her was never real or available, not sexually or emotionally. He never laid a hand on her."

She took a needed breath, watching as Kathy surveyed her, still holding the washcloth in her hand. "Not even during..." she trailed off, her cheeks flushing, and Alex rushed to fill in her words.

"No, he never touched either of us." She sighed. "Kathy, I am so, so very sorry. I shouldn't have let any of this even start, much less continue."

"Why did you, then? Let it continue?"

The question caught Alex off guard, even though she had considered it relentlessly over the past two days. She put her hands up, as if searching for an answer, and felt dizziness betray her again. Kathy caught her faltering, and sat her gently back in her chair, settling in across from her.

"I don't know," Alex responded, at a loss. "I liked the physical aspect of it." She looked up at Kathy, suddenly self-conscious. "I know it's not everyone's cup of tea." She gave a half shrug. "I kept going, though, to prove something. To prove that Olivia was mine, and that she loved me, and only me." She looked up at Kathy, and met her eyes, and for the first time felt as if they could possibly understand each other. "But what I saw, Kathy, was honestly nothing I should have been jealous of. When Elliot left that night, he left thinking only of you."

Kathy pursed her lips, hoping to hold back the tears in her eyes. There was never a moment that she'd stopped loving her husband, not even in the heat of his confession. She knew the pitfalls of marriage, of routine, and most of all, of imagination. She had been guilty of it herself at the hospital with an occasional doctor or two. But she had never let it go as far as Elliot had. But then, she'd never had the request, either. She laughed at the thought, accidentally, but still her sudden cheerfulness startled the blonde in front of her. That poor, beautiful blonde, who looked at her as if she'd managed to ruin the entire world, her face pale, her shoulders slumped. She imagined Elliot, even imagined Olivia, and the misery that each of them were feeling.

She reached out a hand and patted Alex's knee gently. "I appreciate what you tried to do here, Alex." She smiled, unconvincingly, but it was a start. "But if you don't mind, I think I'll go talk to my husband now."

...

Alex debated about going back to the office, but since her calendar was clear for the rest of they day and she had just dry heaved in a stranger's kitchen, she instead found herself sitting in her car illegally parked outside of Olivia's apartment. She hadn't known what to expect from Elliot's wife, but she had to give Kathy credit. She thought she would leave with nothing less than a black eye, but the other woman had been the picture of poise. If only Alex had half as much grace, maybe they wouldn't be here now. She shook her head and punched the horn in frustration, taking only fleeting pleasure in its loud, disrupting blare.

A tap sounded at her window, and she half expected to see a cop, just to make her day even more pleasurable. It was a cop, but not the kind she expected. Instead of a uni, she saw a pair of dark eyes nestled under a pair of raised eyebrows, half hidden by shaggy, brown bangs. She smiled instinctively and rolled down her window.

"You trying to get my attention or something?" Olivia asked with a hint of a smile. She was dressed in running pants and sneakers, a sheen of sweat across her forehead. "What happened to just banging on my apartment door?"

"I didn't think you wanted to see me," Alex mumbled, properly chastened by her lover's friendly greeting. Even after all she had done, Olivia was still being nice to her. She didn't deserve it.

"Yeah, I might not have wanted to see you while I was trying to get a grip on this mess, but that doesn't mean I don't care." Alex felt a spark of hope reignite in her heart as Olivia opened the passenger's side door and slid into the car beside her. "I love you. Love doesn't just disappear when you get hurt."

Alex remembered what Elliot had said to her earlier in the day and sighed. "Sometimes it does..." Aside from being sick with guilt, she still felt bad for everyone involved in the problem they had caused - Elliot, Kathy, and especially Olivia. That betrayal was the worst of all, because Olivia was the one that trusted her the most. Strong, independent Olivia had trusted Alex enough to let her Top in their last scene, regardless of the disastrous ending. It didn't get any more intimate than that. She couldn't expect the detective to forgive her easily after such a severe breach of trust.

"Not with us."

Something about the certainty in Olivia's voice loosened the knot inside of Alex's chest, and she felt herself sob softly at the release of pain and stress. She couldn't help leaning over and pulling Olivia into her arms, desperate to be as close to her lover as possible. Olivia accepted her touch, wrapping Alex in a secure embrace and resting her chin over the crown of her girlfriend's blonde head. "You really messed up, Alex. Both of us did. But if all relationships ended because people made mistakes, no one would ever stay together."

"So, I'm still your girlfriend?" Alex asked, feeling a little like a fourteen year old girl asking a boy out for the first time. Even after everything they had been through, Olivia still had that effect on her. Her skin was warm from her run and the smell of sweat and exertion clinging to her reminded Alex of sex and the good times between them, not the ones that caused them to fight.

"I think we're a little more serious than just 'girlfriend' at this point, Alex, but I have to know if you're on the same page with me here. If we're going to be in a relationship like this, we have to rebuild trust and you need to be able to talk to me. Do you think you can do that?"

Alex nodded. "Of course." She exhaled, breaking her eye contact with her girlfriend for a moment. "I just went to see Kathy Stabler."

Olivia's eyes widened. There were times when the ADA's determination knew no limits, but going to see Elliot's wife had taken a lot of courage and a huge commitment to righting what they had done wrong. "How did that go?" she asked.

"Well enough. I dry heaved into her kitchen sink."

"What - ?"

"It doesn't matter," Alex continued with a wave of her hand. "Elliot came by my office today. He told Kathy everything." She gave a pointed look at Olivia. "Everything."

The detective rested her head against the back of the seat, the cool leather beginning to chill her sweat-covered body. "How's he doing?" she asked quietly.

"He looked like shit. Felt even worse." She glanced over at Olivia, and clasped her hand. "But it's not my place to tell you any more." She had definitely learned her lesson, and knew that Olivia and Elliot had things that they needed to sort out on their own. "The two of you have to talk about what happened," she said quietly, encouragingly.

The brunette nodded, giving Alex's hand a tight squeeze. "I know." She sighed. "I'm just not sure where to go from here."

"From here, you just need to get his story. From him. Not me." Alex turned in her seat to face her. "All I know is that Elliot loves you too much as a friend to let what happened the other night get between you. And he loves his wife too much to just give up without a fight."

Olivia nodded, knowing that Alex was right. Whatever had to happen between them, it couldn't happen while Olivia was trying to avoid him. "Do you want to come up?" she asked.

Alex had to stop herself from accepting the request immediately. She knew Olivia still had some thinking to do, and probably needed a little more time to herself, despite her genuine offer. "No," she said, with a shake of her head and a warm smile. "But why don't I make you dinner tonight?"

Olivia nodded. "I'll take it." She leaned over, cupping the attorney's jaw and giving her a light but intimate kiss. As she pulled away, the words slipped from Alex in a whisper.

"I love you."

"I love you, too. Now go home, get some rest, and I'll see you tonight."

...

Elliot pulled his bag from his locker where he'd stuffed it earlier that morning, despite the fact that his duffel was twice as large as the cubby hole. He yanked it free with a grunt and threw it over his shoulder, not looking forward to another night in the crib. He'd slept there many times before, but always due to work, when he was too exhausted to toss and turn. Lying awake in the dank room steaming over his mistakes, however, was another beast that didn't leave his back in good shape. His phone buzzed at his hip, and he answered it as he heaved the bag over his shoulder. "Stabler."

"Elliot."

He dropped the duffel onto the floor at the sound of his wife's voice, trying to read it, but it sounded clear and official. "Kath," he croaked, wanting to keep her voice close to him as long as he could. "How are you?"

She ignored the question, and instead said the very words that he hadn't expected to hear, at least not so soon. "Come home."

He nodded immediately, but his words were more focused on his wife. "Are you sure? I don't want to make things harder than I've already made them."

He heard her sigh, and couldn't tell whether it was from frustration, exhaustion, or both. "Elliot, we need to talk. Just be home for dinner? The kids have been wondering where you are. We'll talk later." She was gentle, but direct, and the detective appreciated it at the moment.

"Of course," he said, a smile lighting up his face for the first time in awhile. He knew enough not to get ahead of himself, but that didn't mean he wasn't happy to at least try to make things right. He heard a beep on his phone, and looked down, Olivia's name flashing on his screen. He felt an odd sense of comfort at the name, though, rather than the knifing remorse he'd felt flutter through his chest throughout the night before. He ignored the call, focusing on his wife at the moment, something he should have done way before this mess started. "I'll be home in half an hour," he said, waiting for Kathy's goodbye.

"Elliot, I do love you."

He'd been in his marriage long enough to know that love never disappeared with one mistake, or even two or three, but they had work to do in order to rebuild their trust. "I love you too, Kathy, I never stopped." They whispered goodbyes, and Elliot hung up, the missed call from Olivia still flashing on his screen. He thought about slipping the phone in his pocket and ignoring it, but that seemed too easy. Instead, he pressed her name, dialing her back.

"Hey, El."

"Hey," he said, his voice overly casual. "I just missed you, I was on the other line." He waited, allowing her to direct the conversation. He had no idea where she wanted to go after his revelation, and although he knew he desperately wanted his friend back, he knew he still had some things to sort out about the woman he'd idealized over the past few years.

"You working tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah."

A pause, and he could envision her moving around in her apartment, attempting to distract herself while she thought about her next words. "Listen, why don't we grab coffee in the morning? Seven o'clock, over at that cafe by the precinct?" She waited, and he could hear her hesitate.

"That sounds good," he replied. Another awkward pause, and he wished he had some easygoing words to fill in the holes of their anxiety. He knew Olivia probably had no idea how to handle him at this point, and he wanted to put her somewhat at ease. "Kathy and I are talking tonight. I plan on doing everything it takes to make this all right again." He paused. "That includes with you, too, Liv. This friendship is important to me." It was true, and he felt like it was one of the first confessions that made sense to him.

"Me too, El. Go home, be with Kathy, fix things, and we'll talk in the morning."

He nodded, clicking his phone shut and sliding it back into his pocket. He picked the duffel bag back up and, smiling, headed away from the crib towards his home.

...

Chapter Twelve:

Elliot was nervous as he pulled into the familiar driveway of his house, but he was also hopeful. The sky was dark even though it was early thanks to the rapidly shortening days and some overhanging clouds, but it was nice to be home at a decent hour anyway. He really hoped that this house and his family were still part of his home, and he knew he had no right to consider them his until he made things up to Kathy, but he allowed himself to be tentatively optimistic. Kathy had reached out and called him, and she seemed willing to at least see his face and hopefully hear him out.

Instead of sitting and worrying in his car, Elliot got out and headed in through the garage, glancing at the front door. The step had set in nicely and it was nice not to worry about the uneven edge anymore. He had been waiting for the day one of his children would trip on it and scrape their knees up on the brick and concrete. He thought about knocking before entering to alert Kathy, but decided that it might seem suspicious to the kids if he banged on the door. Instead, he used his key and called out as he entered the house. "Hey, anyone home?" Four cheerful voices responded from the living room, and Elliot smiled as he heard his kids. They were glad to see him, even Maureen, who was getting too old to show an interest in anything having to do with her "uncool" parents. "Hi guys. I'm home for the rest of the night. What's Mom making for dinner?"

"Lasagna, I think," said Kathleen, who had abandoned her homework to give her father a hug.

"Maybe I'll go help her."

Dickie gave his father an incredulous look. "Help cook? You?"

Elliot ruffled his hair. "I can at least hand her stuff and help her set the table... maybe she wants some company."

After a few more minutes with his children, the detective headed in to the kitchen. As his daughter had predicted, his wife was cooking Lasagna, and he allowed himself a deep whiff. He really didn't deserve any meals from her right now, but that didn't mean he wasn't grateful. "Hi," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets since he didn't want to throw Kathy off by touching her. He knew the greeting sounded awkward, but he really didn't know what else to say.

"I'm glad you're home at a decent hour."

Her use of the word 'home' to describe this house, the house where they had spent so many years and raised four wonderful children, made him slightly less uncomfortable. "I'm glad that you're letting me set foot in here," he admitted. "And feeding me dinner. Please don't think I'm complaining, but I honestly wasn't expecting anything like this. I don't deserve it."

"Did you know that Alex Cabot dropped by and spoke with me?" Kathy said, changing the subject.

Elliot's eyebrows rose towards his hairline. That was the last thing he had expected Kathy to say. "Really?" he blurted out, unable to hide his surprise.

"Yes. She looked about as tired and miserable as you did."

"Um, what did she say...?" Part of him really didn't want to know, but he couldn't help asking. Since Kathy was speaking to him again, he guessed that it hadn't been something terrible.

"She explained a little more about what happened between you." Elliot flinched, and Kathy noticed. "Don't worry about it right now. It was awkward, but not terrible. Let's just enjoy dinner with the kids right now. We'll talk about the rest later."

Fortunately, dinner in the Stabler household didn't leave much room for preoccupations. The kids demanded his full attention, describing school projects, debating favorite teachers, planning overly ambitious weekend adventures, and he had little opportunity to let his mind stray towards the conversation he and his wife would be having that night. Which was probably for the best, because he loved Kathy's lasagna, and didn't really want to lose his appetite by thinking about his own stupidity.

After the dishes were done, homework completed and checked, a half hour of television faithfully watched after disagreeing on a show for another thirty minutes, he shuffled the kids up to bed, taking care to tuck each on in, even Maureen, who complained that she was too old for such coddling. He saw Kathy watching him, a sad smile on her lips, and he knew he couldn't wait any longer. They had to talk.

They found themselves back at the now empty kitchen table, where they somehow ended up for all their difficult decisions. He waited respectfully for her to begin, but when she faltered, he spoke up first. "Kathy, I am truly sorry that I hurt you. I was dishonest, not only with you, but with myself, and I'm sorry that it ended this way. I love you, and the kids, and I'll do anything to make it up to you. Anything to not hurt you anymore."

She looked at him. "That's a good start," she said, slowly. "Now tell me what you're going to say to Olivia Benson the next time you see her."

He seemed taken aback for a moment, which was exactly what Kathy had intended. She loved her husband, and had every intention of working through what seemed to be, from what she knew, his first and only major misstep in their marriage, but she had to know the extent of his feelings for Olivia and how he planned on handling them in the future. She had no ill will toward the woman, and for all intents and purposes, thought she seemed like a wonderful, caring person, no matter how she chose to engage with her girlfriend in the bedroom. The stark truth was that she had saved Elliot's life more than once, and had possibly saved their marriage more times than she had almost destroyed it.

Elliot hesitated, taking a moment to collect his thoughts before he spoke. "I plan on telling her that for awhile now, I've misplaced my attention with her. That I've used our friendship as a platform to morph her into this idealized vision of something that doesn't exist, that can't exist, and that I let it get in the way of the person and the people closest to my heart. I used her as an escape."

Kathy let the words flow over her. She got their intent, and she saw the honesty in Elliot's eyes, and she simply wished that she could have him wrap his arms around her and have the images of him watching and enjoying the two women out of her mind. "Elliot. What did it? What sent you home that night?"

Another lengthy pause, and she again appreciated that he was clearly thinking through his reply, trying to answer the question for his own sake as well as hers. "I thought it was because I was upset that I would never be the person that Olivia would want." He swallowed, the words difficult even as he heard them. "But I left because I was upset that I didn't know who she was, or even who I was anymore. Sitting in that room, everything felt hollow all of a sudden. I didn't know why I was there, or for who, and I just had to get out of there. So I left. I came home. And I thought about you."

Kathy let a tear roll freely down her cheek, the only one that she had let herself shed since the night in the living room when Elliot had confessed. It felt good, and freeing, and she let another one trickle slowly down, until her cheeks were chilled with wetness. She let Elliot lean toward her, and cried harder once his arms were around her, the ones she had known for years, and that she wanted to know forever. She allowed herself all the time she needed, only pulling away once the collar of her husband's shirt was saturated with her grief. She wiped her eyes, staring back at him, and she gave him a half-smile. "So let me get this straight. What were they doing when you left?"

He looked at her, his face flushing. "Kathy..."

"Elliot, what were they doing? I want to know."

He cleared his throat. "Alex was, um - Alex was fucking Olivia with a strap-on."

"And that's when you left?"

He nodded.

"You left as Alex Cabot was penetrating Olivia Benson with a dildo?"

He nodded again, his face now beet red.

"And you came home and thought about your wife?"

He nodded, unsure of her train of thought. He believed they made progress, but he wasn't sure of the value of rehashing the night. Kathy shrugged. "Well. I'm not sure I'll ever get that image out of my mind, but I also don't think there are many men who would have willingly gotten up and left."

He stared blankly at her, not sure whether to nod or shake his head. He opted for staying quiet, which seemed his best bet under the circumstances. She looked at him, uncertainty crossing her features. "Did you... like that? Watching them... do the things that they did? Spankings...?"

Again, he stared blankly, but after a moment he realized Kathy expected an answer. "It works for them," he said. "I'm not sure it would work for us. I get all I need from you strictly with our very wonderful, very vanilla sex." He snuck a smile over at her, and his chest loosened when he saw her return it.

She stood from her chair, and gave him another studied look. "I say we keep our options open." She gave him a small wink, and with that, turned, heading towards the stairs. "You're still sleeping on the couch this week," she called down to him.

...

The next morning, Elliot felt brighter than he had in a long time. It was as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, allowing him to breathe easier. That didn't prevent him from being nervous as he walked into the coffee joint that he and Olivia usually hit up before work when they needed a caffeine fix. Coffee with Liv was nothing so nerve-wracking in and of itself, but it was the first time he had seen her since running out on their scene, and he wasn't sure what he was going to say. As he glanced around, he noticed that his partner was already sitting down with two cups in front of her. Usually, they got their orders to go, but this time was different. He walked over to her, noticing that she had already ordered for him, and smiled awkwardly. "That for me?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

"No problem. I know what you like anyway. I already did your cream and sugar."

Elliot sat down and took a sip from his cup to stall for time. "Olivia, I'm sorry I put you in such an awkward place. You're my partner and my best friend, and I never wanted to hurt your feelings, make you feel uncomfortable, or cause you to fight with Alex."

"You didn't cause me to fight with Alex," Olivia pointed out. "Alex caused me to fight with Alex, and she's paying for that. She's got some more kissing up to do before I'll forgive her completely, but she and I are still together. We're working on it."

"That sounds about where Kathy and I are," Elliot told her. "Dinner last night was... good. I explained a little more about what happened. Did you know that Alex was the one that changed her mind?"

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, she told me she went to your wife's house with nothing but some scotch in her stomach and apologized before dry-heaving into her sink. I'm not sure whether that was classy, rude, brave, extremely trashy, or just stupid, but if it got you and Kathy back on speaking terms, I'm glad she did it."

"Me too."

The brunette detective sighed and took a sip of her own coffee, closing her eyes for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. "Elliot, I'm not in love with you, but I love you a lot. I want you to work things out with your wife, and I'm really sorry that I asked you to watch me and Alex... you know. If I'd had even the slightest idea that you had some kind of feelings for me, I never would have put you in that situation. It was a really crappy thing to do."

"You didn't know," Elliot said. "Alex knew, but I told her I could handle it. I made my own choices, Liv. It wasn't your fault."

Olivia reached across the table and squeezed Elliot's hand briefly, getting the first awkward physical contact out of the way so that they could start to repair their relationship. "So, where do we go from here? Does your wife hate me?"

"I don't think so... I told her the truth. I was in love with an idealized version of you, probably because we spend so much time together and you're a spectacular person, but if this experience has taught me anything, it's that we aren't right for each other. I belong with my family and you belong with Alex."

Olivia smiled, glad that Elliot had come to that realization on his own and wasn't still nursing a completely broken heart. "I want to know one more thing. I didn't lead you on or anything, right? I never made you think I was interested..."

"No," Elliot hurried to reassure her. "It was just wishful thinking. I guess when your best friend is a really attractive person of the opposite gender and you're a straight guy who doesn't get to see his wife enough, these things can happen. It doesn't excuse what I did, but I understand it better now."

She nodded, and took another sip of her coffee before looking back at him. "Elliot, no more secrets, okay? If anything should ever come up again, you'll tell me right? I would think after all this, there's nothing we can't share." She grinned. "All right?"

"You got it."

"And one more thing," she said, framing her last request in her mind. "All of this, everything that happened..." she trailed off.

"... goes with us to the grave," Elliot finished for her, giving her a reassuring nod. "You don't have to worry about that. And not with Kathy, either. She likes my paycheck, Liv, and she prefers that I keep it."

"I wish makeups could be this easy with our significant others," Olivia said thoughtfully, her mind drifting toward Alex, whom she had forgiven the moment she let the attorney into her apartment, but whose very presence still seemed to remind her of a betrayal that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Elliot nodded, gripping his coffee as if nursing a pint of beer. "You're telling me. When Kathy looks at me, she's still haunted by the images in her head. As soon as she lets me touch her again, I plan on surplanting all of them with a happier, gentler vision." He grinned.

Olivia laughed. "You can probably guarantee they'll be gentler, that's for sure." She cocked her head, still not content with the way her own resolution was progressing. "I think what bothers me most is that Alex deliberately used a scene for her own purposes. I wasn't a factor in it, El, and that's not the way it's supposed to work."

He looked up at her. "Not that I'm an expert on the particulars of this type of relationship, Liv, but I'm pretty sure people use sex in manipulative ways all the time. Alex was jealous, confused, and on some level, probably just trying to please the both of us. If she had her way, I'm sure she wouldn't have continued our little arrangement. At least not for so long."

"Yeah," she sighed. "It will just take time. I'm not sure how I feel about being intimate, not after the way she took advantage of me."

"I thought that was the whole point?" He raised a sarcastic eyebrow, but quickly lowered it, chastened. "I'm just kidding, Liv. Look, you've got to just go for it. Be intimate. Go with the flow. Reclaim it. Just for the two of you." He flushed, and took another sip of his coffee. "I guess you two won't be inviting anyone back in your bedroom for awhile."

Olivia shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far," she said. She waited for his wounded expression, and tossed a sugar packet at him. "Get over yourself, Elliot," she said with a chuckle.

He flung it back towards her. "You ready?" he asked. "I think we both owe Cragen some productive hours after the last couple of weeks."

She sipped the rest of her coffee, and stood, looking up at him. He smiled down at her and she reached her arms up around his neck, giving him a tight, warm squeeze. He reciprocated, allowing his arms to slip around her waist.

"I'd like to reiterate," she said, "that this is a completely platonic embrace on my part."

He nodded into her shoulder. "Ditto, partner."

...

"That was excellent," Olivia hummed contentedly as she sagged against the back of her chair, patting her full stomach and smiling. "I love when you make Chicken Parm for me, you know it's my favorite and you always do it the fancy way..."

"It's not that fancy," Alex protested, blushing a little at the compliment. She hadn't always been a great cook, and had even confessed to setting her stove on fire in court, but with encouragement from Olivia, who was tired of doing almost all of the work in the kitchen, she had quickly improved after enrolling in a local cooking class. She was rather proud of her recently acquired skill, and enjoyed showing it off, especially for her girlfriend. "I'm glad you liked it, though. I love making you happy."

That simple statement nudged Olivia out of her calm, contented state. She sat back up in her chair, straightening her posture and leaning over to rub her thumb over Alex's knuckles. "I know, sweetie. I'm glad we got to eat together."

"When should I leave?" Alex asked, bringing up the subject even though it was depressing. Before their fight, she had been spending most nights at Olivia's apartment. Even though it was smaller than her own, the detective's home was comforting and lived-in while hers was a bit too sterile for her tastes.

A pause hung between them. "You don't have to leave," Olivia said, not letting go of Alex's hand. "We still have some work to do in order to get back to the place we were, but I'm hoping we'll come out of this stronger than before."

"I hope so too. I'd love to stay, but I didn't want to assume. I didn't bring an overnight bag -"

"You have enough clothes here," Olivia protested. Elliot had told her to go for it, to try and reclaim their intimacy, and at the very least, she just wanted to hold Alex in her arms tonight. "Please stay? I've missed you."

Alex was so touched by Olivia's kindness and sweet words that she almost began crying. However, she had enough self-control to hold back tears. Her emotional breakdown at Kathy Stabler's house had been more than enough drama for the week. "Are you sure?"

"Elliot said a few things today that made me realize what I was missing. If Kathy has it in her heart to give that old jarhead another chance, the least I can do is try and patch things up with my girlfriend, too."

"I love it when you call me your girlfriend," Alex confessed. "Well... when you acknowledge our relationship. The word girlfriend sounds a little juvenile."

Olivia grinned and got out of her seat, walking around to Alex's side of the table and standing behind the ADA's chair. "How about lover?" she purred, kneading the attorney's shoulders and smiling when Alex groaned and let her head loll back. "Oh, you're tight here," she said, digging her thumb into a particularly sensitive spot. "I guess you're still carrying around all of this week's tension."

"Mmmm... That feels reeeeally nice, Liv," Alex breathed, lowering her chin in the other direction so that Olivia could massage the trigger points behind her shoulder blades even more firmly. "You're amazing at this."

The next words slipped from her lips before she could stop them. "You seemed to enjoy the last time I gave you a massage, too." She felt the blonde's shoulders tense at her words, even though she hadn't meant anything by them. She had genuinely enjoyed pleasing Alex during their last scene, and had loved the way the attorney's body seemed so bendable under her touch. The outcome hadn't negated any of her enjoyment, and she wished she could take back the memory she had just promulgated. She bent down, placing a kiss along the back of Alex's neck. "I didn't mean anything by that," she clarified. "I just enjoy touching you. Always."

Alex scooted back in her chair, standing and facing the detective, her blue eyes sincere and vulnerable. She looked as if she was about to say something, but instead her lower lip trembled, and she pressed her mouth against the brunette's, wrapping her arms around the strong shoulders. "I'm sorry," she breathed. "Please let me make it up to you."

Olivia cupped her jaw, pulling back from the embrace only slightly. "Alex," she said, shaking her head, and the blonde feared she had overstepped her bounds again, her head lowering. "Alex," Olivia repeated, lifting her jaw gently. "This is about us making it up to each other. Okay?" She waited for the blonde's nod before pressing their lips together again. Alex let herself melt into the kiss, running her tongue along the length of Olivia's lower lip before fully exploring her mouth. She had craved this contact for days, and now that she had it, she didn't plan on rushing it along. Slowly, she felt the detective relax into her, pushing her towards the living room as their kisses heated up.

Alex felt the brunette's commanding fingers guide her towards the couch, but she pushed her girlfriend down against the cushions instead, wanting to take control of the moment. She straddled Olivia's hips, settling over her pelvis and letting her fingers continue to run through the detective's short brown locks as she deepened their contact. Olivia's hands began their usual roaming, first across Alex's back, then up under her shirt, her palms providing heated contact with the skin beneath it. She curled her fingers, lifting the shirt, but the attorney quickly moved them back to their original position, breaking their kiss long enough to remind the detective of her intentions. "Let me make it up to you," she purred, nuzzling into the olive toned neck.

Olivia leaned her head against the couch, a sigh of pleasure escaping her lips, and let her own hands continue to play their supporting role. Alex traced the edge of her v-neck sweater, running her tongue lightly along the edge of her collarbone, and dipping lower, the movement causing her hips to move against the detective's. She was rewarded with a soft moan as her mouth retraced its steps, leading back up to Olivia's lips.

This time, neither of them dominated the kiss, simply sharing sensation back and forth. Usually, when they found themselves in this position, their kisses were frantic, filled with a hunger that only showed the simmering edge of their need to possess and be possessed, to take and be taken, and it didn't matter which role they each chose. But now, they were almost calm as Alex removed Olivia's sweater, and then allowed the detective to strip her of her own shirt as well, sharing the sweetness of each other's skin.

"You're beautiful," Olivia whispered as she lowered the straps of Alex's bra, enjoying the way her lover shuddered at the soft touch of fingers against her shoulder.

"I love you," Alex whispered back. They had said it before, but everything they had been through and everything they were doing now made the declaration weightier.

"I want you..." Even though she hadn't been sure that morning, Olivia was anything but uncertain as she continued kissing Alex, only pausing to whisper in her ear or help the attorney kick off the rest of her clothes.

Alex wasn't satisfied with her own nakedness, and she started unzipping Olivia's pants as well, coaxing one of hands inside and squeezing over the fabric of the detective's underwear. "I want you, too," she said, suddenly realizing what she had done at the same moment and beginning to pull her hand away. "But if you don't want -"

Olivia's firm hand over hers kept Alex's palm in place. She could feel wetness through the fabric of Olivia's panties, but she didn't want to take any liberties. There was still a lot of trust that needed to be rebuilt between them. "I do want. I just said so, remember?" She had thought this would be hard, but it was all too easy to surrender her heart and her body to Alex again, even after everything that had happened. Alex accepted them gladly, knowing she didn't deserve them but treasuring Olivia's love and trust for the precious gifts they were.

"Can we at least - together?" Alex stammered out, suddenly a lot less eloquent than usual as Olivia's hand found its way between her legs. Olivia raised her hips in answer, encouraging Alex to help slide her pants off.

A little more shifting and the detective's nakedness mirrored the attorney's own. Alex wasted little time settling her body over her girlfriend's. Her own desire was eclipsing her uncertainty, and as their breasts rubbed against each other, she felt a reciprocal wetness between her legs. In a moment, Olivia's hand retraced its path between the ADA's legs, fingers slipping easily along her glistening folds.

Olivia had pictured easing her way into this sort of intimacy, coaxing her body back into it, but the feel of Alex on top of her sent her arousal skyrocketing, and she wanted nothing more than to be inside her girlfriend. Alex's hand brushed across the detective's stomach, reaching tentatively between her legs. Olivia broke their kiss and stared up at the attorney. "Inside," she said, her hips rising in tandem with her request, and she moaned as Alex slipped inside of her. The movement encouraged Olivia to insert her own fingers inside the wet, waiting core above her, and Alex let her head fall against Olivia's neck. The guilt and remorse that she'd felt over the last two days suddenly disappeared, freeing her to completely feel the connection to the woman beneath her.

Their breathing was in sync, their thrusts, even their lengthening moans seemed to be coming from one being. Olivia's hand reached up, cupping Alex's jaw and reigniting the fire of their kiss, tongues dancing against each other. The two fingers inside Alex curled upwards, with Olivia's thumb circling the bundle of nerves above her opening, and the attorney moaned deeply, inserting a third finger into her lover and thrusting further.

"Liv, I'm gonna..." Alex moaned as Olivia's warm muscles began to flutter faster and squeeze her. She could feel everything she was doing to the detective, and the intimacy triggered something inside of her, releasing a rush of feelings that couldn't be called back.

The detective's voice escaped as a strained hiss. "Yes, baby... come around me. Let me feel you."

Alex's eyes snapped wide open and locked with Olivia's as her lips parted, breath skating over her lips as she cried out, each moan slightly louder and sweeter than the last as her hips pumped wildly against Olivia's fingers. She had just enough motor control to continue curling her fingers inside of her lover as well, and she was rewarded with a flood of wetness pulsing out into the palm of her hand. When she hit a particularly sweet spot, Olivia let out a low sob as she followed Alex over the edge.

They tried to extend their joined release for as long as possible, moving their fingers in tandem even as the rest of their bodies shut down, overwhelmed by pleasure and emotion. "That was for me," Alex said wonderingly, speaking before she had entirely caught her breath but not regretting it even as her chest burned for oxygen. She had been the one to make Olivia come. She was the one that Olivia was embedded so deeply inside, both physically and emotionally. She was the one Olivia loved. She was the only one, had always been the only one.

"I love you," Alex said again, and it was a few moments before she realized that she was crying. She pressed kisses to Olivia's face, her lips, her neck and collarbone, her hair, everything she could reach. "I love you, I love you..." The words started to run together, but Olivia heard them, and the last broken part of her heart mended itself. She wrapped her free arm around Alex's waist, unwilling to remove her fingers from inside the ADA.

"Love you too. Don't forget again, 'kay?"

"Never. I promise."

Alex let her head rest on Olivia's chest, sighing as she felt the strong arms wrap around her. She was exhausted, her guilt having drained her energy for the past two sleepless nights, and she felt her eyelids droop in the surety of her girlfriend's arms.

"We fit together so well," she mumbled, her voice betraying her tiredness as she nuzzled even further into Olivia's neck.

"Yeah," Olivia sighed, combing her fingers through the blonde hair that splayed over her shoulder. They lay in silence for a few moments, and the attorney's breath lengthened. "Lex?" Olivia asked, angling her head downwards. The blonde's eyes were closed, her features slack with sleep. Olivia grinned, leaning her head against the arm of the couch. "We fit together perfectly."

...

Epilogue:

Elliot took another swig of his beer and checked the time on his cell phone to make sure it wasn't too late. He had agreed to join the rest of the squad for a drink before heading home, but one was strictly his limit, and he wanted to get back to his family at a decent time tonight. He had been making a real effort to spend more time with Kathy and the kids over the past several months, and so far the results had been more than worth it. He hadn't felt so connected with his wife, his children, or himself in a long time.

"Kathy got you on a short leash?" Munch teased when he caught Elliot glancing at the screen of his phone.

"You got no right to comment," said Fin. "You've had four shots at marriage and still no woman at home to show for it. Maybe Stabler should be givin' you tips."

Before Munch could protest, Olivia returned to their table and set down another pitcher. "Ugh, the new bartender is driving me up the wall," she complained, collapsing into her seat next to Elliot. "He won't stop hitting on me! You would think he got the hint after I flashed him my badge, but that only seemed to encourage him."

Elliot frowned. He thought about offering to speak with the forward bartender himself, but decided against it. Olivia was a big girl that could take care of unwanted admirers just fine on her own, and if she couldn't, Alex would certainly be happy to set them straight. Or, not straight, as the case may be...

"Which bartender?" Fin asked, looking over his shoulder. "The scrawny one at the end over there?"

Olivia nodded, pouring herself another beer. "Uh huh. Guy's got an ego the size of this room."

Fin snorted. "Probably to make up for his lacking in other departments. You need a man packing more than that, Benson." The three of them chuckled, the beer sufficiently glazing over the decorum they normally kept in the precinct. Not that they were ever that formal on the job, either, but still, they tried. Elliot joined in, chuckling under his breath, but his mind unwittingly flashed to an image of Olivia wielding her ample sized strap-on.

"I think Liv's packing enough on her own," he said. His face reddened at his comment, and Fin and Munch stared at him for a moment, as if in full lucidity. Olivia cleared her throat, setting down her beer, and shooting him a warning glance.

Silenced spread through the booth, and then Munch laughed loudly, banging a fist on the tabletop. "Right! Liv, if you show him your gun, I'm sure he'll back down." He and Fin chuckled, sipping their beers, and both Elliot and Olivia let out an audible sigh of relief.

Spurred on by the alcohol and also by the huge problems it would cause if Fin and Munch found out about her relationship with Alex from secondhand sources, Olivia decided to come clean... at least partially. The guys knew that she was flexible in terms of the dating partners she selected, but they had no idea about Alex, and she really didn't want them to hear it through the grape vine in case another "accident" happened. Besides, hopefully the news would distract them from Elliot's awkward comment.

"He couldn't handle me anyway, but I'm sure the person I'm dating would rip off his manly parts and shove them through the neck of a beer bottle if she had any idea."

Fin tried not to to look too surprised when Olivia revealed the gender of her latest partner. "She a ball-buster or somethin'?"

"You have no idea," Elliot muttered into his drink. "Ow!" he gritted his teeth as Olivia gave his ankle a sharp kick under the table. Apparently, he hadn't been as quiet as he thought.

"Anyway," Olivia said, regaining control of the conversation, "you already know her."

That piqued everyone's curiosity. "From work?" Fin asked.

"Of course from work. Where else do we share a social circle?" Munch pointed out. "The question is, who else that we work with is gay and interested in Olivia..."

Elliot gave his partner a side-long glance. They would never come up with Alex without some help from Olivia, but if she was ready to tell them, he would support her. They were partners, after all, and they always had each other's backs. Their relationship over the past several weeks had been a little awkward at first, but both of them worked hard at it and had eventually gotten back to a place resembling normalcy. Elliot just hoped that Munch and Fin would survive after the bomb was dropped.

"Think blue steel in heels," he piped up from beside Olivia.

The two of them watched as their colleagues thought through the riddle, and he placed an internal wager that Munch would guess first. Sure enough, the older man practically choked on his beer as he set down his glass.

"The Ice Queen?" he said.

Olivia's eyes flashed. "Hey, watch it. That's my girlfriend you're talking about."

Fin stared at her, his mouth partly open. "Uh uh," he said. "Cabot is not gay."

"She's very gay," Elliot blurted, wincing as his partner sent her boot into his ankle again.

"How long?" Munch asked, still clearly amazed at this most recent revelation. Elliot pitied them. He could already see their imaginations working overtime. If they only knew. He chuckled into his beer.

Olivia glanced over at Munch. "She's always been gay, Munch."

"No, no, how long have you and her been seeing each other?"

"A few months."

Elliot watched as their mouths dropped open again, and suddenly Fin was on him. "Elliot, you knew about this?"

The detective nodded, slowly, sneaking a glance at Olivia. "How could I not? She's my partner."

Fin laughed. "That's funny. 'Cause I thought you and Benson here were having an affair." His chuckles continued, even as Olivia and Elliot's face reddened again. This time, both of them buried their faces in their drinks.

Munch turned to his own partner. "Why the hell would you think that?" he asked, clearly feeling as if he'd missed something.

Fin shrugged. "I don't know. For a couple of weeks there, Kathy would call asking about both of you guys. I just assumed." He shrugged. "I didn't judge or nothing."

Munch hit him on the shoulder. "You're a fool, Fin. Elliot here's been checking his phone all night long. The guy's only got eyes for his wife." He shook his head. "And you call yourself a detective."

Fin shrugged him off. "Whatever." He turned his attention back to Olivia. "I assume you and Cabot are keeping this on the down low," he said with a nod of his head.

Olivia nodded. "We're trying to be discreet." Not that they'd been succeeding at that over the past couple of weeks.

"Well," Munch chimed in, "I can guarantee you that's not going to get that bartender off your back tonight. You tell him you've got a girlfriend, and he'll ask to come home with both of you." He laughed. "Men are fools, my dear."

Olivia laughed, leaning back in her seat. "Nah," she said. "Three's a crowd. Right Elliot?"

Elliot smiled. "Yeah, right."

The End