Present Day

"Tell me about your relationship with Ms. Cabot."

Olivia took a deep breath as she looked around the familiar office walls lined with books. She knew this was coming; it was one of the reasons she was sitting in her therapist's office. Still, it didn't make the question any easier to answer.

"It's complicated," she answered.

"I figured that much or you wouldn't be here, Olivia," Dr. Lindstrom said with a smirk. Lindstrom paused, noting that Olivia had shifted her eyes to the floor. "Why is it complicated?"

"I...I don't know exactly," Olivia said. "We were friends."

"Were friends?" he asked.

"Well, I guess we are friends," she said.

"That doesn't sound very complicated," he said.

It shouldn't have been complicated. It hadn't been complicated with any of the other ADAs that came through SVU. Casey Novak was her friend. Rafael Barba was her confidant. David Haden was her lover. But Alexandra Cabot? Complicated was the only word that could describe what her relationship was with Alex.

The first time they met was right after Alex was assigned as SVU's permanent by the Morris Commission. Her daily presence and eagerness wasn't exactly welcomed by Olivia and the rest of SVU, even from Captain Cragen.

"The first time we met, she was assigned to work directly with SVU after the Morris Commission," Olivia started.

"So her job was to babysit?" Lindstrom asked. He was familiar with the Morris Commission.

Olivia nodded and raised her eyebrows with a smirk.

"That must not have gone over so well," he said.

"It didn't. She was an outsider, just waiting for us to screw up and report it back to the brass," Olivia said.

"I see," he said. "But something must have changed if you became friends, as you say."

"Yeah, I guess," she said. "Why are we talking about Alex?"

Lindstrom wasn't surprised at the sudden question, as he was used to her avoiding the hard subjects at first.

"Well, I presumed you were here because of the Times article," Lindstrom said. "What do you want to talk about, Olivia?"

Olivia took a deep breath again. She knew exactly why they were talking about Alex. He wasn't incorrect in his presumption; she was there because of the newspaper article. However, she was more interested in talking about the anger she was feeling toward whoever did this to her - to them - than she was about trying to figure out her relationship with Alex Cabot. She had given up on that a long time ago.

"Because I'm angry and stressed and can't focus," she said. "And I want to kill the son of a bitch that did this, metaphorically speaking."

"That's understandable," he said. "This person is attacking the livelihood of you and someone you care about. Am I safe to presume you care about Ms. Cabot?"

"Yes," Olivia nodded. "Like I said, we're friends."

"When was the last time you saw Alex?" he asked carefully. Olivia had avoided the line of questioning earlier, so he was careful to bring it back up.

"Two days ago," she replied.

"After the newspaper article?" He asked

Olivia nodded yes.

"What about before that?"

"It's been a couple of years," she answered.

It had been two years. Olivia knew exactly when it was because it was right after she watched William Lewis kill himself. Alex showed up at her apartment unannounced one evening. It was the night before Olivia had to testify in front of a grand jury to convince them Lewis had killed himself.

"And you haven't seen or talked to her since that night?" he questioned after Olivia told him about her last encounter with Alex.

"We've spoken a handful of times," she said. "Checking in and stuff like that. She sent a baby gift when Noah's adoption was finalized."

"But you've not seen her," he clarified.

"Like I said, it's complicated," she replied.

#

TWO YEARS AGO

"I'm coming!" Olivia shouted through the apartment. "I told you guys, I'm fine and don't need anything."

Olivia opened the door expecting to see Nick and Fin there, as they had just left her apartment not five minutes ago. They had barely left her side since the Lewis ordeal, and she was thankful they decided to leave her alone earlier than normal that night. She told them she wanted to try to get a good night's sleep in before her grand jury testimony the following day.

"Alex," Olivia said. She was not expecting Alex Cabot to be on her doorstep tonight. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Sergeant," Alex smirked. "Now, are you going to invite me or do I have to continue standing here in these heels all night?"

Olivia was still in a stunned state. Alex was one of the last people she expected showing up tonight. She can't say she was entirely pleased either, as she really did want to attempt to rest before court tomorrow.

"Yes, I'm sorry," Olivia said. "I'm a bit out of sorts."

"I know," Alex said as she walked into the apartment. "I'm sorry, Liv."

Olivia stared at Alex and nodded in acknowledgment. She knew that Alex had to have known what happened to her, but it didn't mean she wanted to talk about it with her, or anyone else for that matter.

"Wine?" Olivia asked. She still wasn't sure what Alex's intentions were for being in her apartment.

"No, thank you," Alex replied. She was busy looking around Olivia's apartment for signs that her friend was okay. The blanket on the couch told her Olivia hadn't been sleeping well, but that was to be expected.

Olivia walked into the living room with her glass of wine and sat on the couch. Even if Alex was still standing, there was no reason she needed to stand.

"So why are you here, Alex?" Olivia said. She wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush with Alex, who obviously had a reason for being there.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," Alex said.

"Well, I'm fine, as you can see," Olivia said. She took a drink of her wine and crossed her legs, subliminally closing herself off to Alex.

"You're not fine, Olivia," Alex said. "And you shouldn't be expected to be fine."

Alex sighed as she watched Olivia continue to avoid eye contact.

"I just thought you could use a friend, that's all," Alex said.

Olivia gave out a small internal laugh at the word friend rolled her eyes.

"Okay," Olivia said. "I'm not fine. Are you happy, Alex?"

"Of course, I'm not happy, Liv," Alex said. "You've been through hell with William Lewis...multiple times. I just want you to know that I'm here if you need anything. I know you have the Grand Jury tomorrow, so if you need any help..."

"Thank you, Alex," Olivia's voice softened. "I'm ready for tomorrow. Really."

"Okay, well, I'll let you get some rest," Alex said. "Even know I'm pretty sure you won't sleep."

Olivia smirked at the comment. Alex was right about that. She walked Alex to the door.

"Take care of yourself, Olivia," Alex said and gave Olivia a hug. It was a longer hug than either of them anticipated. Alex held on for dear life when she felt the brunette's body shaking slightly in her arms. They finally pulled apart and smiled at each other before Alex turned to leave.

A/N: Don't worry. I'm still finishing out One Angry Judge, but I was anxious to start this one as I've had the first part of it written for a while.