Olivia's POV

As soon as I hear our apartment door open and then immediately slam, followed by a heavy sigh and hurried footsteps, I know my love is home. And not in the best of moods.

I poke my head out the bathroom door as she walks by, still towel drying my wet hair. "Hey, baby," I say with a smile.

She attempts a smile of her own but it falls short and she sighs again. "Hi. Sorry I'm late. Again."

It's the third time she's been late this week and from the tone of her voice she knows it, so I decide not to make a big deal out of it. I feel bad for showering without her. One of our favorite things to do together after a long day of work is to climb into the shower together. What starts out as a serious shower usually turns into a soap suds fight followed by fits of giggles. You'd never guess we were two professional women by our mentality in the shower.

I drop the towel from my hair and approach my love. She's upset and I know it and as soon as I'm an arm's length away, she reaches out and initiates the embrace. "I'm so sorry, Liv. I know we had plans tonight. I hate that this damn case is taking up all my time." When we break apart, she runs her hand through my still damp hair. "It will be over in a couple days and we can go back to normal."

I smile as her hand wanders to my cheek and lingers there. "Alex, we were never normal. What are you talking about?"

This gets a laugh out of her. That sound is one of my favorites in the world. Alex's laughter is musical. Her usually husky voice turns completely melodic when she laughs and no matter how bad the day has been, it always makes me feel better. This is at the top of my list of never-ending things I love about this beautiful woman.

I give Alex a quick kiss. "Don't go into our bedroom without me. I'm going to finish getting dressed."

A sly smile creeps onto Alex's face as she fingers the towel that's wrapped around me. "You don't have to get dressed . . ."

It's my turn to laugh. "Counselor, you have a pretty dirty mind." I wink at her as I step back toward the bathroom door. "I mean it, Alex; don't go into our bedroom. Wait for me." My tone is stern and Alex raises her eyebrows into one of her 'Liv's weird' looks but nods. She's removing her jacket as she walks towards the living room.

I dress quickly, a huge smile on my face the entire time. I can't wait for Alex to see the surprise I have for her. It's going to cheer her up so much. I know she's probably sitting on the couch in anticipation right now. I know she won't peek. She'll wait, just as I asked her to. I slow down a bit just to maintain the suspense. I'm so mean.

Sure enough, when I emerge from the bathroom and enter the living room, I do indeed find Alex seated on the sofa. She has an open can of Diet Coke on the coffee table in front of her and the local news turned on. She looks at me when I enter. "You know, I would appreciate being able to get out of my work clothes. I don't want to wear this suit all night. But my girlfriend won't let me into my own room." She tries to sound irritated but fails miserably. I pick up amusement in her voice instead.

I stand right in front of her and stroke the fabric on the shoulder of her light blue blazer. "But you look so sexy right now." My fingers wander to the buttons on the pink blouse she's wearing underneath and I undo two of them quickly. "Hmm . . . this may be better though."

Alex playfully swats my hand away. "Would you please let me go change?" I don't answer and I watch her studying my expression intently. A smile plays at the ends of her mouth. "What are you up to, Miss Benson?"

I shrug and fall onto the sofa next to her. "You know, I am a detective. I know the real reason you've been late coming home all week. You aren't working on that case. You found another little love muffin, didn't you?"

Alex laughs that wonderful laugh again, and I know I've got her. She loves these little games we play. "Did I leave behind too much evidence? Damn. I thought I had learned to cover my tracks better. I guess dating a cop didn't do much for me."

I take a strand of Alex's lush blonde hair and it curl it around my finger. "So who is it? That brunette intern that started last month? Hmm? Or someone from my department?"

Alex smiles again and leans her head onto my shoulder. I can feel her totally relaxing and loosening up under my gentle touch and it warms my heart that I can do this for her after a hard day. I start to stroke her hair as she giggles a bit and says, "You really don't want to know, Liv."

Curiously I prod her further. "I want to know who I need to fight."

Silence for a moment. Then Alex says, "Okay. You got me. It's Munch."

And suddenly we're both laughing. The very idea of Alex having an affair with Munch is just too humorous. In fact, if I ever caught them together, I wouldn't be mad; I would find it so hilarious I would probably die in a fit of laughter.

"Wow, that's . . . surprising," I say, laughing again. "Munch."

Alex nods and I feel her adjust her position so her head is now resting on my chest. "Uh-huh. He's got me hooked on his conspiracy forums and everything. We got engaged tonight." She pulls away from me long enough to look at me with a smile. "You happy for me, babe?"

"Thrilled, sweetie." I don't give Alex a chance to settle back down against me. I stand up and offer my hand to my girlfriend. "Now let's go celebrate your upcoming nuptials."

Alex allows me to pull her up from the sofa and lead her into the bedroom. Pausing just outside the door, I tell Alex to close her eyes. She obeys and I pull her into the bedroom and stop with her just in front of the bed. "Okay, now you can open them."

As soon as Alex's eyes fall on the bed, a huge smile graces her beautiful face. I've littered our red bedspread with white rose petals and placed a single rose on our middle pillow. Alex loves white roses and I love to surprise her with them just as much.

While Alex picks up the single rose I move to our dresser and take the bouquet down. She looks first at the vase in my hands and then into my eyes. Hers are shining with tears of joy and mine are about to do the same. "A dozen. Just for you."

Alex takes the bouquet from me and adds the single rose. "Liv, this is so wonderful . . ." Her voice is shaky with emotion and she hugs me tightly, using the arm that isn't cradling the vase of roses. "Thank you. But it isn't a special occasion." I watch her wrack her brain, searching for any important date she might have missed. "Why did you do this?"

"Because you're you." I close the space between us and capture her cherry-colored lips with mine. She hasn't removed her lipstick yet and I know I'm being smeared, but I don't care. When the need to breathe becomes too much, I release her and we rest our foreheads together. "And any time I get to spend with you is precious and special."

Alex's POV

When I wake up the next morning in my favourite way with my favourite detective beside me, I can't help but smile. The roses Olivia gave me last night are sitting on our vanity and I smile at the memory. Olivia always knows how to cheer me up after a hard day. As soon as I was with her, I instantly forgot the trying case and Nora's stupidity and all the anxiety I was carrying because I was so swamped with paperwork. When I'm with her, the whole world falls away until it's only the two of us. When I'm with her, everything is perfect.

I glance at the clock. It's almost six, and I should be getting up right about now, but I have a problem. Olivia's arm is draped over me, which usually makes me feel safe and loved and special, but right now, I want to get up without waking her. She's a hardworking lady and she deserves what little sleep-in she can get. But as soon as I try to climb out of bed, her arm tightens around me, refusing to let me go.

I smile at the protective gesture and lean down to kiss her forehead, deciding I'll just skip my morning run. An extra hour with Olivia is worth it. I love watching her sleep. She looks so beautiful, so peaceful, unlike during the day, when her brow seems perpetually furrowed. Her job really takes a toll on her, poor baby.

I snuggle back into her and press a kiss to the side of her neck. She shifts slightly and smiles in her sleep. I smile back at her even though I know her eyes are closed and she can't see me, and I brush her hair back from her forehead before giving her another kiss. God, I love waking up with her. It's been nearly three years now, three wonderful, amazing years of our togetherness. I have never felt so happy in my entire life. Olivia completes me. I don't even remember what I used to do without her.

About twenty minutes later, Olivia stirs, lazily opening one eye and smiling when she sees me. "'Morning, baby," she says groggily. "What'cha doin'?"

"Watching you sleep," I say, pressing a kiss to her lips.

She deepens the kiss, and after a few moments, we break apart, and she rubs her eyes in the most adorable manner. "How come you're still here?"

I pretend to be offended. "You don't enjoy my company? Thanks, Liv."

She holds me closer. "Mm, I do. You're just usually out on your run by now."

I chuckle. "You didn't seem to want to give me up this morning, babe. I tried to get out of bed, but I guess you were feeling a bit possessive. You wouldn't let go of me!"

Olivia blushes. "Sorry."

I laugh. "It's okay. I'm happy to sacrifice my personal fitness regimen for you as long as you don't complain about my rapid weight gain after a few missed workouts."

"I think you're exaggerating a bit, sweetie. It's one morning."

"Routine is nice."

"So is sleeping in on occasion."

"I do sleep in. On the weekends."

Olivia throws a pillow at me. "Liar. Waking up at 5:00 a.m. and going for an hour run and then coming back to bed does not count as sleeping in."

"Excuse me, are you insulting my workout regimen?"

Olivia just shakes her head, grinning.

I pretend to pout. "Fine. No breakfast for you, then." I disentangle myself from her embrace. "I'm going to shower. Want to join me?"

"That depends. Do you think you can keep your hands to yourself?"

I cross my fingers behind my back. "Yes."

Olivia chuckles. "You're cute." She pulls me close again and kisses the crown of my head.

"We've got an hour before we need to leave . . ."

"Only twenty minutes of which we can devote to showering, if we want to eat."

"Nineteen. You're wasting your time arguing with me, Liv." I grab her hand and pull her out of bed. "Come on."

She grumbles as the cool air assaults her naked body, but I mute her protests by claiming her lips with my own as I drag her toward the bathroom. "We only need twenty minutes, anyway," I say once the shower is running.

"Oh, cocky, aren't you?"

"Very," I say with a smirk.

Olivia's POV

Although my shower with Alex (and the other activities that occurred while in said shower) brightened my mood this morning, it immediately drops once I get to work. We've got a serial rapist who's hitting a little too close to home. We've been working the case for twelve days, and this week there were two more victims, bringing his total up to eight that we know of. All of the women are blonde, blue eyed, tall, and slim. They all remind me so much of Alex.

As I sit in the interrogation room with victim number eight, Anne Davenport, I have to consciously remind myself not to replace her in my mind with my girlfriend, despite their physical similarities. This is my job, but when I get home, Alex will be there, and everything will be okay again. Maybe I'll take her out for a nice dinner if I get home before seven. She'd like that; with our respective caseloads, we haven't been out in nearly a month. Recently, I've mostly been ordering Chinese around eight and dropping some off at her office. But tonight, I want to spend some quality time with her, just to celebrate how glad I am to have her. I never dreamed I would get this lucky and find this much happiness. Alex truly makes me happier than I've ever been in my whole life. I never thought I could ever find someone like her, and that she could love me. But I did, and she does, and I am eternally grateful.

"Anne, can you tell me what happened?" I say gently, handing her a glass of water.

She nods and takes a sip of the water I've brought. "I was at a bar, at the Horseshoe. I was all by myself and he sat down beside me and asked if he could buy me a drink. Honestly, he creeped me out a bit, but I wanted to be polite, so I let him. We chatted for a bit. He left after maybe twenty minutes, and I guess he was waiting outside for me, because when I left the bar – he grabbed me. He held a knife to my throat. He told me not to scream. I – I didn't – I was so scared – he put me into his car and drove me somewhere, I don't know where. It was this secluded alleyway. He raped me."

The Horseshoe. All of the other victims had been at that bar, too. Their stories are all the same.

"I know this is hard for you, Anne, but do you remember what he looked like?"

As she describes the man to me, I diligently take notes, but in my mind I'm thanking God that this isn't Alex sitting in front of me, telling me that a nameless, faceless man violated her in the worst way possible.

"Captain, we don't have a lot to go on here. He wore a mask; none of the victims can describe him," I say to Captain Cragen.

"We've got to change tactics," Elliot says. "We need to send someone in undercover. He's got a pattern – he strikes Tuesdays and Thursdays, picks up women with a very specific look. I think we can get him."

"It's risky. And his type is so specific that I'm not sure anyone in the PD qualifies."

"Don." A voice behind me makes me turn around. It's Alex, and I wonder why I didn't hear the telltale clicking of her heels approaching. She gives me a quick smile before turning back to the captain. "I could do it."

"Alex, are you out of your mind? There is no way in hell we are sending you out on an undercover op."

"You do it," she says, sounding so petulant that I would smile if what she was asking wasn't so ludicrous.

"I'm a cop."

"I'm an ADA. And you'd be my backup."

"Alex, he's a serial rapist."

"Olivia, I want to catch this guy just as much as you do, and if no one in the PD fits his type, then you're going to have to call in someone else. If you can't find a police officer, I volunteer."

"No."

Alex turns to Cragen. "Don?"

Cragen sighs. "We'll see, Alex. I don't want to put you in danger any more than Olivia does, but you're right – you'll have backup. If we can't find someone else, we'll discuss it."

"No," I say. "Alex, you are not baiting a serial rapist."

"Olivia, I can make my own decisions."

"Alex," I say quietly, "I don't want you to get hurt."

"You two, we haven't decided anything yet, so your argument is a bit premature," Cragen says.

Alex sighs. "I wanted to see if you wanted to come out for lunch with me," she says to me. "I have an hour."

"No. I'm mad at you."

"Why?"

"Because of your blatant disregard for your own safety! You know what it would do to me if I lost you?"

"Sure I do, Olivia. It's how I feel about you every single day while you're on the job."

We stare at each other for a moment, neither of us blinking or backing down.

Finally, I give in. I really do love her. "Lunch sounds great," I say, taking her hand. "Captain, I'll be back in an hour."

He gives me a smile as Alex pulls me toward the door.