On Thursday, Olivia woke up around nine and started cooking. The night before she had braved the grocery store to fill up her kitchen so they would have something to eat. Pies and sides were done and cooling on the counter and the main course was in the oven when there was a knock on the door. She checked the clock and sat it was only eleven.
When she got to the door, Olivia opened the door and saw Alex standing on the other side with a large paper bag full of food. She was in a light blue sweater and jeans with heeled black boots. Her hair looked perfect and effortless as it fell in soft curls.
"You're early," Olivia smiled and opened her door wider to let the ADA in.
Alex smirked, "I woke up this morning and realized that if I got here at noon all the cooking would be done." She walked into the kitchen and looked around. "Look at that," Alex smirked, "There's food."
"Well, what's Thanksgiving without food?" Olivia asked and watched Alex take everything out of the bag she brought, "What are you making?"
"The greatest dressing you've ever had in your entire life," Alex grinned.
The detective watched Alex move around the kitchen like she lived there. Olivia studied the skilled hand as Alex started chopping vegetables. "Do you cook a lot?"
"Sometimes," Alex shrugged, "It helps me think, but I don't always have time for it."
"What do you do to think when you don't have time to cook?" Olivia asked and walked to the oven to check on the bird.
"I run," Alex replied.
"Central Park?"
The blonde nodded, "It's like my oasis. Leave all the concrete and laws behind and just run."
"Sounds nice," Olivia offered.
Alex nodded.
After a few minutes of quiet milling around the kitchen, Olivia decided to ask a question that had been plaguing her for a few days. "Why did you help out with my bail?" Olivia asked.
"You're a cop," Alex continued to chop the celery, "Cops don't do well in prison and I knew Elliot couldn't afford it all by himself."
"I was being horrible to you," the detective turned and leaned back on the counter, crossing her arms, "Why would you help me?"
"You're a good person. I know you didn't do it," Alex picked up a piece of celery and popped it into her mouth before going to the refrigerator. The reason she was avoiding the question and giving lame answers was because she didn't really know why she jumped at the chance to help the special victims detective.
The last dodge of the question told Olivia that this was not up for discussion. So she watched Alex's graceful movements. The fluidity gave the kitchen a sort of serenity, like Alex belonged there.
"Why aren't you with your family on Thanksgiving?" Olivia asked.
The blonde smiled and raised an eyebrow, "Do you always ask so many questions?"
"It's my job to ask questions," Olivia replied with a smile, "I'll stop asking after this one."
Alex looked out the tiny window over Olivia's sink, "My family died with my mother."
Olivia bit her tongue to keep from asking more questions about Alex's family. When the blonde looked back over at her, she laughed, "C'mon Liv. I can see it in your eyes. Go ahead and ask."
"I said I wasn't going to ask anymore questions," Olivia raised her hands.
Alex smiled and looked back down at the celery, "My dad died of a brain aneurism my first year at the DA's office. My brother was killed by a drunk driver. My mom had a huge fight with her mother when I was in law school so I'm estranged from that side of my family. Cancer seems to be picking off my dad's family one by one so there's not many of them left. They're scattered around Colorado."
"Wow," Olivia picked up a nearby spatula and swirled it in her hand.
Alex was eager to stop talking about herself so she looked to Olivia, "What about you? Why aren't you with your half-brother in New Jersey?"
The question caught Olivia completely off guard. "How did you know about him?"
"Elliot mentioned it offhandedly when I talked to him about your case," Alex explained, "So I looked up the case."
"He's in Maryland with his wife's parents," Olivia replied. She walked to the sink and started to do the dishes. "He did invite me to Christmas though."
"Sounds nice," Alex smiled, but didn't look up.
Olivia picked up a piece of celery Alex was cutting, "I'm probably not going to go, but if you haven't found a rich, handsome man that's not completely smitten with you, I'd love the company."
"I highly doubt that I'll find any man that would be completely smitten with me," Alex chuckled, "But having some company on Christmas sounds less depressing than spending it working."
Olivia rested her hand on the small of Alex's back. "You know if you ever just feel like having dinner or something…If I'm not working I'm free."
"You'd think a smart, attractive woman such as yourself would have more dates," Alex started mixing things in a pan and slid it into the oven.
"The badge and gun stop most people right off the bat," Olivia mentioned, "The ones that don't stop at that, stop when they find out what kind of detective I am."
"I get that," Alex nodded.
It wasn't long before all the food was done and set out on the table. Alex poured the wine and set the bottle on the table. "This looks amazing Liv."
"So does that dressing," Olivia picked up her wine and raised her glass in a toast. "To good friends."
"Good friends," Alex echoed.
Olivia took a bite of the dressing and smiled, "Oh my god Alex this is amazing. Where'd you learn how to make this?"
"My grandmother taught me," Alex smiled, "I'm glad you like it." After a bite, Alex asked, "What were Thanksgivings like for you?"
The detective smiled wistfully, "I always loved Thanksgiving with my mother. She would always invite some of her students who couldn't make it home to their families over and they would be scared and uncomfortable at first, but they would always get comfortable. Some of the people that she invited over we so smart and when I was little, they would talk and I would listen and learn. It was great. Plus, she wouldn't drink in front of her students so she never got drunk."
Alex smiled glad that Olivia had some nice memories of her mother.
They ate the rest of the meal, complimenting each other's cooking and sharing their past holiday experiences. As they were cleaning up, there was a knock on the door. Olivia went to the door while Alex continued to clean up.
Olivia opened the door and was surprised to find her partner. He was holding a pie and smiled, "Happy Thanksgiving."
She smiled back, "Thanks El. What are you doing here?"
"Just thought I'd drop by," Elliot stepped in as Olivia stepped out of the way. "Kathy wanted me to give you this." He handed her the pie.
Olivia looked down at the pie in her hands, "It looks great. Do you want to stay for some?"
He grinned, "You know me so well."
The water in the kitchen came on and Elliot looked up. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"
The female detective, "No." She lead the way to the kitchen and Elliot followed closely wanting to see who Olivia was spending Thanksgiving with. When he saw Alex standing at the sink, his jaw dropped. After their little dispute over the case, Alex was the last person he thought he'd see in Olivia's apartment.
The ADA looked up from the sink and smiled, "Hey Elliot."
"Alex," He nodded.
"Elliot brought some pie," Olivia set the pie on the counter and got down three plates.
"I don't know if I can eat anymore," Alex placed a hand on her toned stomach.
Elliot looked at the food left on the table, "Looks like you two had a feast."
Olivia nodded as she cut the pie, "We did. You have to try the dressing that Alex made. It's amazing." She handed Elliot a fork and pointed him at the pan of dressing.
He walked over to it. "Wow." He took another bite. "Wow." He looked at Alex, "You made this?"
The blonde nodded with a slight smile.
"This is…wow," Elliot sat at the table in front of the dressing.
Olivia glanced at Alex and they exchanged a knowing smile before Olivia commented, "Kathy is not going to be happy that you have no room for any of her Thanksgiving dinner."
"I'll be fine," Elliot shoveled another mouthful down.
Olivia walked to the other side of the kitchen and handed a piece of pie to Alex. The blonde smiled in a thank you and took a bite. Olivia watched and was once again amazed at how poised Alex was when she was doing the simplest things. She felt weird that she was watching Alex so much, but she couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of the younger woman.
"This is really great Alex," Elliot told the ADA as he stood and put his fork in the sink. Olivia handed him a piece of Kathy's pie.
"Thank you," Alex graciously answered. She took another bite of this pie, "Tell Kathy this is delicious."
"Will do," Elliot stood in the doorway while he ate the pie. "So, how did you two decide to get together for Thanksgiving?"
Olivia looked to Alex who differed the answer with a shrug. Olivia looked at her partner, "I took Alex to dinner because she went on a date with Trevor Langan for me and she made me soup and cleaned my apartment while I was sick. So we were figured out that we were both going to be alone on Thanksgiving so we decided to be alone together."
"That's good," Elliot nodded as he took the last bite of his pie. He put his plate in the sink next to Alex's dirty plate and looked at both women, "I'm glad you two are getting along again."
Alex looked at Olivia who smiled sweetly and Alex couldn't stop a smile if she wanted to, "Me too."
"And all it took was Olivia getting throw in jail," Elliot chuckled. He checked his watch, "Oh, I need to go. I'm supposed to pick up Kathy's sister in Midtown."
"Be safe," Olivia told him.
"I will," he nodded and looked at Alex, "Bye Alex."
"Goodbye Elliot," Alex replied.
He walked to the door and let himself out.
"What do you say we go pass out in the living room and finish cleaning later?" Olivia offered as Alex rinsed off some plates.
"Sounds like the best idea I've heard all day," Alex smiled.
They went to the living room. Olivia sat on the couch and Alex sat on an armchair. Olivia turned on the TV and saw a football game was on. Alex seemed to follow it so Olivia left it on.
They silently watched the football game and after a few plays Olivia looked over at Alex who had fallen asleep. The older woman smiled and grabbed a blanket off of the back of the couch. She stood and covered the blonde before falling back on the couch. A few plays later, Olivia fell asleep too.
