Author note – I have to thank again everyone who reviewed or messaged me about The Kitchen Aid, or simply if you just read it. It was such a fun story to write! This here is the sequel, we left our two lovely ladies at Christmas time and this story picks up a few months later around Easter time, I'm not a total stickler for time-lines etc but I do try and keep certain things realistic. This probably won't be quite as long as the first story, but over half the chapters are written already so I'm hoping I should be able to keep up with regular posting. As always reviews are greatly appreciated but not necessary, however, I am quite good at writing in stuff people would like to see happen so if you have thoughts like that then why not go ahead and leave it in the little box at the bottom.

Rating is M for pretty much every single chapter after this one ...

Disclaimer (for all chapters) – they aren't mine, I'm just borrowing them to have some fun and make them all have some fun too

Whilst it's not necessary that you read The Kitchen Aid first, if you'd like to you can find it from my author page


Chapter One – "You need a bigger closet"

Liv stood slightly frozen on the doorstep, listening to the thundering sound of small footsteps as they approached. Despite the season, New York was unquestionably cold and for some reason Queens had gale force winds to add into the mix.

"Livia!" The door swung open and an over-excited six year old with beautiful brown eyes stood between Liv and her long-awaited heat source.

"Zara!" Her grandmother scolded. "Let Olivia come in."

Zara ran around excitedly, since Nick's divorce was finalised she now spent every other weekend with him in Queens, plus the majority of the school holidays, and despite the upheaval she appeared to have escaped relatively unscathed.

"Are you staying with Daddy over Easter?" Liv asked, her numb fingers clutched around a steaming mug of coffee.

Zara nodded. "Papa's taking me on an egg hunt this weekend!"

Liv grinned. "How exciting."

Since Christmas, the veteran detective had come to realise that it actually did her a lot of good to be around children who were just that, children. Not victims or runaways or kids who watched their parents beat the living daylights out of each other. It gave her a better sense of perspective, reminding her that good things did still exist in the world. So when Nick offered up his Mom and Zara to help Liv with a little project, she naturally jumped at the chance.

"Why does Amanda get a cake?" Zara asked. "It's not her birthday."

Liv pulled the little girl into her lap. "You're right, it's not her birthday, her birthday is in a few weeks but it's kind of like a special birthday," Liv paused, "like how we celebrate President's Day?"

Zara frowned. "President's Day is George Washington's Birthday." She replied earnestly. "We learned about it in school last month."

Liv chuckled. "You've got me there kid."

"Well then." Reena Amaro clasped her hands together, knowing full well that her granddaughter's questioning could go on for several hours. "Shall we get started? This cake isn't going to bake itself."

Armed with a recipe for Amanda's favourite chocolate cake from her Mom, which Liv suspected had been given begrudgingly and on pain of death should it ever be passed beyond their inner circle, the three made their way into the kitchen to unload Liv's grocery bags.

"I got everything on the list." Liv said hopefully. "I really hope I didn't forget anything."

"Don't worry dear." Reena tapped her arm reassuringly. "This really is your first time baking a cake, isn't it?"

Liv nodded. "I did try a batch of chocolate chip cookies once, but I'd eaten most of the dough by the time they went in the oven, and now I don't need to, Amanda's too good at it."

"She's going to make me a pink princess cake for my next birthday." Zara piped up, sat between her grandmother and Olivia on the worktop. "She promised."

"Hush now." Reena silenced the chattering child with a simple look. "Concentrate, you're measuring."

It amazed Liv how diligently the little girl took to her task. She had a sudden idea of what Amanda's kids would be like, if she had them, baking cookies with their mother on a cold and frosty Sunday morning. Little chubby fingers covered in gooey, sticky dough and blue eyes sparkling with sheer delight.

Pretty soon the cake mix was in the oven and the smell of chocolate cake began to permeate the room. Zara played happily on the rug in the living room, whilst Liv and Reena drank tea and chatted.

"So I hear that your Captain has been down to Atlanta a couple of times?" Reena noted, fishing in a way that only interfering Catholic mothers can hope to achieve.

Liv nodded. "So I hear." The jury was still out on how she felt about her Captain's courtship of Amanda's Mom. On the one hand Liv knew enough about life to understand that true connections between people are often few and far between. Yet on the other hand, it was a little like her 'Dad' dating Amanda's Mom ... weird and creepy.

The timer on the oven beeped, saving her from any further mileage from 'that' conversation.

Once the cakes were cooled they iced them in thick chocolate frosting, much of which ended up smeared all over Zara's face as she struggled to keep her fingers out of the bowl. Liv found it delightful, the childish exuberance with which she carried on stealing frosting until she was practically sick. Liv scooped up a bit of frosting on the end of her finger and smushed it on the little girl's nose. She screeched and giggled, excited that Olivia was playing with her. Despite their faces and fingers wearing much of the same frosting, the iced cake still looked more than good enough to eat. Zara placed a brightly coloured 'number one' candle directly in the centre, giving herself a round of applause once it was done.


With takeaway and cake in hand, Liv let herself into Amanda's apartment a little after 6pm, dressed in black pants and a bottle green shirt that she hoped wouldn't give away her lazy day. As far as Amanda knew she'd been reviewing case files down at the Courthouse all day with Alex.

She was just deciding on a hiding place for the cake - inside the cupboard of pots and pans - when a key turned in the latch and Amanda entered.

"Hey baby."

Amanda's head poked around the door. "Hey, how was your day?"

Liv smiled, downplaying, "A little dull, how was yours?"

Amanda rushed to greet her, arms readily circling Olivia's waist. "Okay, Fin teased me mercilessly about it being my 'birthday'."

Liv chuckled, knowing that any teasing on Fin's part would be matched by an equal measure of pride. "I brought Chinese" She said, watching as Amanda shucked her outer clothes, returning to Liv's embrace for a welcomed kiss.

"Mmm, I missed you."

Liv smiled sweetly in return. "I missed you too baby, wanna get changed then we can eat?"

Amanda nodded, skipping into the bedroom in search of fresh clothes.

Despite her earlier hunger, Amanda's appetite failed her and they stopped eating with plenty to spare. The younger detective glanced up at the clock every few minutes, watching the hands tick by as the time approached 7pm, then 7:15pm, then 7:30pm.

Liv reached for her hand. "Are you ready?"

Amanda nodded, "As I'll ever be."


They met Fin outside the church, he wasn't alone, Cragen and Amaro came too. Amanda smiled at them but said nothing, simply nodding in acknowledgement that they were there. They walked inside in silence, the four onlookers taking a seat in the hallway outside to wait to be called in. It struck Olivia that it was a lot like waiting outside court to give evidence, except a different kind of admission was about to happen.

Amanda cringed as she took her seat; she rarely came here these days, maybe twice in the last three weeks. The sound of wooden chairs screeching across parquet flooring always reminded her of elementary school lunchtimes and trading her ham sandwiches for Jeremy Potter's peanut butter cups. Just like then she stood on the precipice of one of the first milestones of many, cautiously ready to make the leap.

Her sponsor entered the room with the group moderator, she stood as he approached and they hugged awkwardly.

"You came then?"

She nodded. "Can't get a bit of round white plastic from just anywhere …"

"Did you bring anyone?"

She nodded again. "They're out in the hall."

His turn to nod this time, as he gestured that they should get started. This was the order in which the meetings ran, they'd start with the successes and then drift backwards. "I'll go get them for you." He offered.

Amanda was standing at the front of the room when the doors at the back of the hall opened and the four figures slipped in, sitting unobtrusively in the back. She cleared her throat, her thumbs twiddling awkwardly such that she shoved them deep into her pockets so as not to appear any weaker than she already felt. The room around her seemed too large and she felt sure that her voice wouldn't carry, despite knowing that it had perfectly well all those times before. The urge to turn and run, grew and grew, until she caught sight of Olivia's hand reaching out for Fin's and grasping tightly. That simple action like a switch unlocking everything that she knew she'd gone there to say, to them.

"My name's Amanda, and I'm a gambler … and it's been a year today since I last bet on a game …"

Her audience rumbled to life, "Hi Amanda."


Fin raised his glass, holding it high into the small crowd gathered in Amanda's tiny kitchen.

"To Rollins."

"To Rollins." The rest of them followed.

Liv slid one arm around her girlfriend's waist, adding softly, "To you, I'm so proud of you, you know?"

Amanda grinned shyly, "Thanks baby."

"And, to show you just how proud I am of you ..." Liv turned around and began rummaging in one of the bottom cupboards, reaching in to pull out the cake. She brought it into the group to the sound of 'oohs' and 'aahs' all round.

Amanda smiled, "You made me a cake?"

Liv nodded. "Actually Reena and Zara helped a lot!"

The garish 'number one' candle flickered brightly in the dim light of the kitchen. Amanda rolled the one year chip between her thumb and forefinger, it would soon join the others in the small porcelain bowl on top of her fridge, no more and no less significant. She caught Olivia's eye as she blew out the candle, these people were her family, and she couldn't imagine having done it without them.

"Three cheers!" Munch shouted, "Hip hip ..." He wouldn't join them earlier at the church but he was more than happy to help celebrate afterwards. "Hooray ... Hip hip ..."

"Hooray ..."

Amanda plunged the knife deep into the centre of the cake, banishing every warning that it was 'too soon' or it 'wouldn't work'. Well they were wrong, she knew herself and she knew Olivia and she knew that the one thing she didn't want to do, was wait.


Once the last reveller had left, Liv closed the door, a barely noticeable sigh of relief escaping her lips.

"Liv, you okay?"

The older woman turned and leant upon the inside of the door, staring into inquisitive eyes which studied her momentary reaction.

"I'm fine," she hesitated. "I supposed I'm just relieved, is all."

Amanda stepped towards her, wrapping slim forearms around the brunette's waist. "Were you worried I wouldn't make it?"

"No!" Liv's response was quick, almost too quick. "No, not at all," she bowed her head a little in self-reproach, "I worried that 'I' might not ..."

There it was, she'd said it, finally admitting to all those months of carrying around the idea that as long as they made it to Amanda getting her 'one-year' then they stood a chance. After all, they were 'Amanda's' words ... 'Relationships with recovering addicts don't exactly have the best track record Liv.'

Amanda stepped closer, pushing her body flush against the taller woman, effectively pinning her up against the back of the door. She raised herself up on tiptoe, bringing them eye to eye. "Olivia. 'You' are the reason I made it this far. 'You' are the reason I'm here."

Liv stared back at her, such earnest honesty, such light in the face of pain. Perhaps it was Amanda's frankness that she had to thank for the best few months of her life, perhaps it was simply that she took the time to slow down and let herself be.

"Move in with me?" Liv asked, suddenly. She meant it but hadn't exactly meant to ask in such a way. In lieu of the blonde's immediate answer she rushed to give forth some quantification to her suggestion. "I mean, we practically live together as it is anyway and I don't wanna be anywhere that you're not anymore ..." She paused. "I know that now, I've known it for a while actually ..."

"How long?" Amanda asked, surprising herself with her response.

Liv relaxed a little, it wasn't a 'No' at least. "Um, a few months," she paused, "Since you made pecan pie in my kitchen at Christmas probably ..."

Amanda smiled. "I knew before that ..."

Liv chuckled, "Well you would, you're a lot smarter than me!"

"So you're asking me to move in with you?" Amanda paused, "I just have one condition?"

Liv kissed her gently, "Anything ..."

"You've got to get a bigger closet."


So ... what d'ya all think :)