Title: "Easter" Weekend
Fandom: SVU, Alex/Olivia
Rating: T/R
Notes: My apologies and deepest deepest gratitude to all the readers and commenters on Something For You For Me. I will get to that shortly. But clearly my ability to remain focused on one task is non-existent. But, an idea sprung into my head and with a nod to sunsetwriter's 'holiday shorts' series, this was the result.
Notes 2: It kind of meanders, but that's kind of par of the course for me these days.
Notes 3: Long live Alex and Olivia!
Notes 4: I'm probably going to hell, but I really do mean no disrespect to anyone.

"Easter" Weekend

It was Monday morning and Olivia walked in… No. Olivia sauntered into the squad room, a little extra sway in her hips, an aura of satisfaction around her, a smile pulling constantly at one corner of her mouth.

"Gooood morning," she tossed cheerily at her partner. She hung up her coat and then flopped down in her chair, leaning back and letting her head fall back, inhaling a deep breath and then exhaling before bringing her head back up and pulling her chair closer to her desk, that smile still tugging on her lips.

Elliot raised an eyebrow as he took in his partner's appearance from his side of the desk. "You look extra relaxed today," he commented on her mood, "Good weekend?"

Smiling, still smiling she nodded, "Yep. It was Easter weekend this weekend. My favorite holiday."

That stopped Elliot short. He made a face. "Um… it's February, Liv. Easter isn't for another month and a half, two months."

Olivia's smile only grew and she again leaned languidly back in her chair and her eyes got a faraway look, "Not for Alex and me," she replied.

Elliot made another face, a frown really, clearly confused.

Olivia finally re-focused her attention on Elliot and tried to explain herself. "Do you remember when Alex was in witness protection but came back to testify against Liam Connors?"

Woah. That question only made Elliot more confused. I mean, yes, he remembered it. But he couldn't image what that had to do with the current conversation nor could he imagine why it would put that smile on Olivia's face. But he went along with it and along with Olivia and nodded in response.

"Well," Olivia started, "last Thursday was the anniversary of when she came back for that trial. It was three years ago, exactly."

"Okaaaaay," Elliot could grasp that it was a significant date, perhaps, but he knew there still must be more the explanation.

"And, well, those three days, well…" Olivia continued but then began struggling for words, "Well, it was like she was returning from beyond. Like back from the dead." Olivia had the good grace to get a slightly embarrassed tint to her cheeks and she looked away, "So every year on the weekend following the anniversary of her return, we celebrate our own personal 'Easter'."

When Elliot didn't respond, Olivia finally looked up a little nervously at her partner.

His expression was noncommittal, either still not understanding or understanding but not approving.

"What?" Olivia finally asked, a hint of insult in her voice.

Elliot shook his head sort of to clear it, "No, I'm sorry," Elliot tried to assure her with a wave of his hand, and his apology. "That's great but… I guess, I don't understand… I guess it doesn't seem like a happy occasion to me. I mean, she came back but then she left again."

Olivia relaxed, realizing that Elliot wasn't judging, not at all. In fact, he remembered those days and the days that followed very well. And was very attuned to Olivia's emotional state at the time.

And on the surface, what Elliot said was true enough. Alex had left again.

And that had sucked.

But… but to Olivia, to Alex, to them both, the truth was, those three days Alex was back in New York… those three days held certainty, they marked the beginning, they were everything.

Olivia's smile finally faced and she became serious. Elliot was being sincere and she owed him that in return. Her voice dropped and she spoke from the heart, "When Alex came back, we knew, you know?" she looked at Elliot. "We didn't acknowledge it to anyone else, hell we barely acknowledged it to each other because the future was so uncertain, but we knew." Olivia took a breath but kept talking, "We'd both tried being with other people, but when we saw each other again… it was clear that as long as the other was alive, there could *be* no other people."

She looked away again briefly then back up at Elliot, "So, yeah, she had to leave again and it was another 15 months before she came back permanently. Yet... for us… it's like that trial, those days... that was when we really started. Or started over. Or… something…" she shook her head, unable to put into words how important the days were, what they meant, and that though here was some bitter to the sweetness when they had to part again, both women still considered those days among the best they'd ever shared.

She looked up at Elliot again hoping he'd just understand.

His quiet eyes and tender smile–a smile that was only discernible to those he was closest to—told her he did.

She smiled back in gratitude. She was then just about to clear her throat and try to put that far more charged and far-more emotion-filled than intended moment behind them.

But Elliot saved her.

He, in typical Elliot fashion, asked a question with what he already knew the answer to. He was a good detective, after all, and a good partner. And Olivia knew that Elliot knew there were only so many things that would put her in the good mood she'd been in when she'd walked in. But he asked it anyway, probably hoping to embarrass her. "So," he raised his eyebrows, "How did you guys, uh, celebrate?"

If Olivia hadn't been relieved to have the previous moment broken and the general feel-good emotions return, she would have rolled her eyes at him. As it was, she just gave him a deadpan look, "How do you *think* we celebrated?"

Elliot shrugged, faux-innocently, "Going to church, decorating eggs, cooking a ham? I mean, that's traditional Easter celebrations, right?"

Olivia almost laughed, "Yeah, okay."

Elliot looked at her amusedly, "Well, if not that then what?"

Olivia was sure Elliot thought he had the upper hand in this tease, that he was, in fact causing her embarrassment. She was also sure, that he expected her to blush and wave her hand at him and smile and get back to work. In other words, he most certainly didn't expect her to actually answer his question and spell it out for him.

So, of course, that's exactly what she was going to have fun doing.

She looked around to make sure no one was listening. She then leaned forward across her desk, narrowing the distance, allowing her to speak so only Elliot could hear. And she looked him right in the eyes as she said with cocky grin and one eyebrow raised, "Well, if you really insist on knowing, we did what we've done every year: rented a hotel room, locked ourselves in, and fucked like bunnies, just like we did when she came back to testify."

Elliot's smile faded and his eyes widened, surprised, hell, stunned just as Olivia had expected. She had to work really hard to not bust out laughing as she went on.

"And if you're thinking back to that first hotel room, the one she was put up in when she came back, do you remember the chair you sat in to play board games with Alex? Yeah, we played other games in that chair. It's possible handcuffs were involved."

Elliot's eyes widened even further and he shifted a little uncomfortably. He and his partner discussed a lot of things but… uhhhhhh.

Olivia held Elliot's eye just a moment longer then couldn't contain herself. She laughed and leaned back again, this time in satisfaction that she'd won that round.

After a moment, Olivia looked up from the file she had picked up from her desk and teased, "You doing okay over there?"

Elliot clenched his jaw, refusing to let it go. And after just another moment he finally got himself composed, and having recovered his ability to speak tried to banter back. "I'm actually a little insulted."

Olivia continued to feign looking through a file, "Oh yeah?" she responded lightly, "Why's that?"

He wasn't actually insulted, of course. He was just hoping Olivia thought he was so he could at least get the upper hand back in this conversation. So he answered, "I'm Catholic. And Easter is a holy, holy day."

But Olivia wasn't buying it. She looked up and couldn't help but smile again, adding a little waggle of her eyebrows as she responded, "Oh, believe me, holy it was."

Elliot just glared, forcing himself to not shift uncomfortably in his chair again.

Yep, won that round, too.

Alex chose that moment to enter the squad room and could just tell that something was going on between Olivia and Elliot. She approached cautiously. "What's up?" she asked tentatively.

Olivia looked up and there was that smile again, that perma-smile she had today, only this one was a little different, especially in her eyes, this one was the one reserved for Alex, "Oh, nothing, really," the detective answered the blonde. "I was just explaining to Elliot the Catholic here, that we celebrated Easter this weekend."

Alex had always been quick on the uptake, and given Olivia's mirth and Elliot's discomfort, she instantly knew exactly how this conversation must have gone. "Oh, excellent. Did you assure Elliot the Catholic that we gave an enthusiastic shout out to God each of the many, many times we celebrated it?" Alex smiled at the poor male detective.

Realizing that we was even more outmatched then he had been before, he finally just excused himself to go to the bathroom.

The two women chuckled and looked at each other. And then smiled.

A beat. Two.

They really did and really had celebrated the weekend, the anniversary, the holiday exactly as she had described to Elliot. And she'd probably be grinning like an idiot over it for the rest of the day. But the meaning the weekend, the anniversary, the holiday was also exactly as described.

Those three days Alex was back in New York… those three days held certainty, they marked the beginning, they were everything.

Olivia reached a hand out to Alex. Alex took it, giving it a brief squeeze before releasing it and getting down to the business of the day.