A/N: This chapter is about 3,800 words; a little longer than most in this fic. But we get through a lot, and I think you'll like this one :-)

Thanks all the reviews. This story is making me happy.

TAKING CHANCES

About two hours into the night, there was still no power in the house, but a loud boom woke everyone up – including Noah.

"Mommy, what is that?" he asked.

"It's thunder, baby," she said. "Just try to go back to sleep." More thunder rang out and Oliva saw weather alerts blowing up her phone. A few moments later, there was a tap on the bedroom door.

"Come in," Olivia said.

Alex opened the door slightly. "I thought I heard voices," she said. "Did the storm wake you all, too?"

"It sure did," Olivia said. "And based on what my phone is telling me, it's not going to be stopping anytime soon."

"Mommy, can Lex sleep with us?" Noah asked. "So she's not scared."

"Buddy, I think I'll be ok," Alex said, smiling, but Noah whined in returned.

"Pleassssseeeee, Mommy?" Noah said. Alex gave Olivia a grimace, unsure how to respond.

"Noah, adults usually don't share beds like you and Mommy do sometimes," Olivia said. "Alex probably wants her own bed."

"But you and Tuck share bed," Noah said. Olivia's eyes got wide and Alex's face fell. It was one thing she hadn't really considered much.

"Well, Noah, that was …" Olivia paused. She was going to say different, and it was…but, something stopped her. "You know how when Lucy stays with us, she sleeps on the couch and not in Mommy's bed." That was a good example, Olivia thought to herself. "It's like that."

"But Lucy is my friend. Lex is Mommy's friend," Noah said.

"Three year olds," Olivia said as an uncomfortable Alex looked on. "What can you do?"

Alex laughed a little, and continued to stay quiet and let Olivia handle the situation. All of a sudden, her face lit up.

"I have a great idea, Noah," Olivia said. "How about me, you and Alex make a bed in the living room. That way we all have enough space."

It was a little less like sharing a bed, Olivia thought. She looked to Alex, who nodded in agreement.

"Okay!" Noah exclaimed and rolled out of bed, running past Alex to the living room.

Alex stepped and helped Olivia gather up some blankets and pillows. "I think I saw an air mattress in the closet," Olivia said. "But, just so you know, you can sleep in your bed if you want. I'm sure he'll be back to sleep in no time."

"Liv, it's fine," Alex said. "It'll be fun; like a slumber party."

"Have you ever had a slumber party with a toddler?" Olivia asked, rolling her eyes. "It's not all it's cracked up to be."

"I'm good with it, I promise," Alex said. "In fact, I was getting a little freaked out by the storms anyway, so it'll probably make me feel safer, too, knowing you are there." She gave Olivia a soft smile. Generally, she would qualify that statement, make it sound like she didn't quite mean it like it could be taken. But she didn't. For once, Alex just let her words speak for her.

"Well, then, I'm glad I can help," Olivia said. They took the armloads of pillows and blankets and headed toward the door. "Hey, Alex, I'm sorry about Noah bringing up Ed like that. He liked Ed a lot."

"It's ok, Liv," Alex said. "He's three. I'm sure he doesn't understand a lot of different types of relationships yet."

"Yeah…maybe," Olivia said. Or maybe Noah saw something we haven't yet. "Anyway, I can't believe how much he's taken to you. He has never done this with anyone."

"Even Tucker, er, I mean Ed," Alex asked.

"He warmed up to him pretty quickly," Olivia said. "Surprisingly, Ed is really good with kids. Who'd have thought? Anyway, they bonded pretty quickly, but it still took him a few times of meeting him to start asking about him."

"Well, he would have been younger then, too," Alex offered.

"Yeah, or maybe you have something Ed doesn't have," Olivia said smiling, almost flirting again.

#

Once a bed was made in the living room, Olivia and Noah laid on the air mattress and Alex laid right behind them on the couch. Olivia had been right, it didn't take long for Noah to fall asleep again. The storm had calmed, but Olivia knew the worst of it wasn't over yet.

About an hour and a half later, a loud bolt of lightning, followed by thunder, send Alex jumping off the couch and onto the air mattress, landing right on Olivia. Noah laughed when he understood what happened.

"I want Lex to sleep next to me," Noah said as Alex was sitting back up. "Ok, Mommy."

Olivia shrugged. "If she wants to, that is ok," Olivia said. "I'll take her spot on the couch and keep an eye on the two of you."

"No, Mommy," Noah said. "I want you to sleep with me, too."

Alex watched as Olivia's mouth opened to come up with a good reason why, in a way Noah could understand. But before Olivia could speak, Alex did.

"Liv, it's ok," Alex said. "I'm not uncomfortable at all if you aren't."

Olivia relaxed a little bit. "No, I'm not," she said. Everyone agreed and Alex laid down on one side of Noah, Olivia on the other.

It wasn't exactly the way Olivia imagined her first time sharing a bed with Alex Cabot would be – not that she had imagined that in a very long time. However, for this particular moment, it was perfect.

#

The following morning, Alex woke up to Noah's arm draped across her. Olivia was already up and cooking breakfast, at least that's what it smelled like. Alex carefully pulled away from Noah and made her way to the kitchen. She stopped before she got there and took everything in.

Olivia was in the kitchen, hair was messy, wearing pajamas. Sipping coffee and sleepily flipping pancakes. Noah was zonked out in the living room. All of a sudden, Alex had a vision of a life she never knew she wanted. A life she never really imagined – even back in the day with Olivia.

She stood speechless watching the brunette cooking breakfast. A woman she had known 17 years and who had always been more beautiful than she gave her own self credit for. Alex was breathless. Olivia - the mother, the cook, the Lieutenant, the almost 50 but still a badass, the champion for victims, the fearless woman standing in the kitchen – was the most stunning and beautiful thing Alex had ever laid eyes on.

In one instant, what took months, years even, getting over, all came flooding back to Alex in a single second. Everything Alex had felt for Olivia in the past, the feelings she pushed away, came rushing to the forefront, perhaps even stronger than before.

Their lives had changed drastically.

Olivia was now the commander of SVU. She was known throughout the NYPD and throughout the country for her work advocating for victims and against sex crimes. She was a mother. She had put herself out there in relationships. She had been through hell and back, and survived it all. She could go anywhere and do anything she wanted, but NYC was where Olivia had chosen to stay, despite it all when others would have fled.

Alex was an Executive ADA and bureau chief. She was one of the top contenders to run for the DA seat next go-round. She had worked in the Congo for ICC. She knew she could have a job anywhere she wanted – U.S. Attorney – whatever it was. She had done all of that, things she never imagined, despite having her life ripped away by Cesar Velez and Liam Connors. She too decided NYC was her home. She didn't want to work in Albany or D.C. or anywhere else. She wanted to fight her justice in her own backyard – even if everyone in the city knew every detail about the most horrible experience of her life in getting shot.

They were completely different people than when they met. Their roads both went in ways they didn't expect or even could have imagined. Yet, after all of that, here they were, 17 years later still surviving storms.

"Alex?"

Alex shook her head. She hadn't realized Olivia was talking to her. When Olivia finally realized she had her attention, she smiled at the blonde.

"Something sure had you deep in thought," Olivia teased. "I was asking if you like chocolate chips in your pancakes like Noah."

"Sure," Alex said. "Sorry, I was still asleep."

"Really? Cause the smile you had on your face said otherwise," Olivia teased.

"Maybe I smile when I sleep," Alex joked backed.

"Hm, well, if Noah has his way, I may get another chance to find out if you end up driving back tonight," Olivia said. "We're supposed to get another round of storms."

"You and Noah, so presumptuous," Alex teased. "Anyway, what can I do to help?"

"Well, there is coffee ready for you," Olivia said. "And if you want some fruit with your pancakes, I think there is some in the fridge. I was going to cut up some bananas."

#

After breakfast, Alex set on her way back to the city for a meeting. She was planning to drive back out after it was over, depending on how the weather was.

Olivia cleaned up the makeshift beds from the night before and put the dishes in the dishwasher. Her and Noah had just started to watch some cartoons when there was a knock on the door, and the sound of Claire's voice. It was a rainy day, so they had plans to stay inside for the day.

"Claire, good to see you," Olivia said, greeting her at the door. Claire had stopped by for a couple minutes each day just to check in on Olivia and Noah.

"Did you and Noah survive the storms ok?" Claire asked.

"We did," Olivia said. "Alex Cabot actually stayed with us, too. She got caught here in the rain and it never did let up." Olivia had already mentioned to Claire about running into Alex their first night there. Claire was happy Olivia had a friend in town.

"Alex is such a sweetheart," Claire said. "I'm glad the two of you have had an opportunity to spend time together then. How long did you say you'd know each other?"

"Oh, about 17 years I guess," Olivia said. "We hadn't really talked or seen each other in a while before. Life gets in the way sometimes."

"Well, I imagine you and Alex have experienced more of dark side of life than most," Claire said. Olivia presumed Claire was talking about Mike Dodd's death, since she was close with the Chief. Of course, everyone knew about the ADA who came back from the dead. It was possible, Olivia figured, Claire could know about William Lewis, too, due to the publicity of it.

"Yeah, I guess we have," Olivia said.

"And you're still friends," Claire said. "Even if you don't see each other every day, that's important. I saw the two of you at the beach yesterday for a bit, you seemed very comfortable together."

"We are," Olivia said.

"I always hoped Alex would find a nice woman, someone who could make her smile and want to enjoy life instead of fighting all the time," Claire said. She didn't explain her comment, and Olivia was a little caught off guard by the mention of Alex finding a woman.

In all the years they had known each other, it was the one thing they hadn't discussed about themselves personally. Though, for Olivia, she never mentioned it because it was almost the elephant in the room. That somehow, if she brought it up, she would have had to admit her feelings for Alex. And back then, Olivia wasn't ready for something like that.

"Maybe you both will…find someone, that is," Claire said, then she shook her head. "Look at me, talking about things that aren't my business."

"No, it's fine," Olivia said.

"Anyway, if you don't need anything, I'm going to get going," Claire said. "I will see you tomorrow, Lord willing."

When she left, Olivia sat down and tried to process the new information.

If Claire knew Alex was gay, it couldn't be a huge secret. Olivia supposed, career-wise, it wouldn't matter as much to Alex now as it would have then. That was another reason, for both of them, Olivia never mentioned it to Alex back before witness protection. It would have been uncomfortable for them both – and for something they had no way of knowing would even be worth it.

But here they were, over a decade later and things had changed.

Olivia understood why Alex hadn't said anything. She'd never told Alex about the times she dated women. It had been a long time, but it just never quite came up since. She wondered if Alex knew how she felt back then – or what she had been fighting off now.

It had only been a few days. Olivia couldn't know if she had feelings for Alex, or likewise. And, of course, dating – if Alex was even interested – wasn't something Olivia took lightly anymore, not with Noah in the picture.

But they did have a history. Not a romantic history per se, but a history. The flirty banter. The desperate stares. The hugs that lasted a bit too long. It wasn't like they were strangers.

Alex had been a road not taken for Olivia, but she had looked down that path. It didn't look anything like their lives now.

At 48, Olivia knew far too well how short life was. She had learned that even more during the past few years, especially after Mike's death. It's why she encouraged Nick to go to LA to be near his kids. It's why she gave a shot at her and Ed Tucker. It's why she didn't hesitate to shoot the former police officer who held a gun to Carisi's head. She hated doing it, but she wasn't going to wait and risk losing another squad member. Yes, the older Olivia took far more chances than younger Olivia. Not risky behavior ones, but chances on people and chances on happiness.

When Alex got back from her trip to the city, Olivia was going to take a chance. She didn't know how it would turn out, but she did know that doors long-closed didn't usually reopen themselves. Maybe there was a reason for it, this time. She wasn't going to pass it up.

#

Alex texted after her meeting. It was supposed to storm, but she should miss the worst of it. Olivia told her to come on over when she got back, that she would save some dinner for them. Alex said she'd be there once she got into town and stopped at her Dad's to change out of "lawyer clothes." She would have normally changed after her meeting, before the drive, but she wanted to miss the storm.

Alex had made up her mind on her drive into the city that morning, and was still settled on her drive back. She was going to talk to Olivia. She had no idea if Olivia would be interested in dating a woman, much less her. They had their friendship to consider, but Alex was going to put it out there. No longer would the elephant be in the room. If Olivia rejected her, so be it, but at least she would know.

Of course, Alex hadn't settled on when and how she was going to talk to Olivia. There was Noah to consider, and their friendship. Also, the fact that all this had come up so suddenly for Alex. She didn't want to rush Olivia. She would let the week play out and when they got back in the city, she'd invite Olivia out and talk to her.

The drive back didn't go as smoothly as Alex wanted. The rain caused slower drivers, debris in the road and a few fender benders. By the time she got back to the Hamptons, she was sure the dinner Olivia cooked for her was long since cold. She sent a text to Olivia while stopped at the last accident, to let her know where she was and so Olivia wouldn't worry, since the brunette had already sent a couple of texts checking on her; all with the disclaimer that she knew she was driving and not to text and drive.

Alex smiled when she finally read it. It was a good feeling to know someone besides her dad was worried about her. She went ahead and went straight to Olivia's when she arrived, hoping she'd catch Noah before his bedtime.

When Olivia opened the door, Alex was drenched from just the short walk to the door. She had left her umbrella in New York.

"I thought you were going to change," Olivia questioned, when she saw Alex in what looked like court attire. "Not that I'm complaining. You look great."

Alex blushed. "Thank you," she said. "I wouldn't normally wear this unless I was in court, but the meeting today was with the DA and some city officials. Anyway, I wanted to catch Noah before bedtime. Am I too late?"

"Well, I just finished his story and turned the light out," Olivia said. "But chances are, he's still awake. Feel free to tell him goodnight. He was disappointed he didn't see you tonight."

Alex's heart melted thinking about Noah missing her. She set her bag down and hurried down the hallway to Noah's room. She quickly told him goodnight and promised she'd see him the next day. When she returned to the living room, Olivia had heated up her dinner and brought it out, with a glass of wine.

"I figured you would be hungry after a long drive," Olivia said. "And after driving through this mess, you deserve some wine."

"I could drink the whole bottle," Alex said. "Though, I can't, otherwise I won't be able to drive home tonight."

Olivia felt a little twinge at the realization Alex wasn't staying again. Of course, it made sense she wouldn't be. She decided to play it off.

"You mean you didn't have fun at our living room sleepover last night?" Oliva said, feigning hurt.

"I actually had a blast, minus the storms," Alex said.

"We may be in for another round," Olivia said. "So, I mean, in all seriousness, if you want, drink up. I know I wouldn't mind the company."

"Ok," Alex said. "But only if you have a glass with me." Olivia agreed and retrieve a glass for herself.

"How was your meeting? It was with the DA you said?" Olivia asked when she returned. She hadn't quite worked up the courage to talk to Alex yet. She was hoping the wine would help.

Alex nodded. "Yes, and the mayor and several other leaders," Alex said. "It was all about the opioid epidemic. People are overdosing left and right. In one city in the south, there was over 150 in a 4-day period. It's being laced with stuff. It's just harder to know here because there are so many people in New York City, even in Manhattan, it's hard to see spikes when there are so many people scattered out through so many hospitals. But, we have some stats now and hospital workers are seeing it more and more. Often in spurts, which means a shipment or something that was laced, has just come in."

"Wow. Yeah, I've been reading about it," Olivia said. "It's scary. Why exactly did the DA pull you in on it?"

"Well, he's considering a new task force between our office, the NYPD, the hospitals, nonprofit groups. Something to specifically target where the stuff is coming from," Alex said.

"Alex, that sounds…" Olivia wanted to say dangerous, but she also knew that was part of both of their jobs.

"It's not as dangerous as it sounds," Alex said. "And I promise, it's not going to be a repeat of Cesar Velez. I learned my lesson and I think so did the DA's office. While we're going to be working with the city resources, all the prosecution and arrests are going to be handled through DEA, FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office. My role is more strategic and counsel."

"Ok," Olivia said. "That makes me feel better."

"There will probably be an announcement in the coming weeks, or month, I'm not sure yet," Alex said. "But, I guess it's a good sign the DA picked me, of everyone, to head this up. I would have thought one of the ADAs who worked more with vice would do it."

"It just goes to show he trusts you," Olivia said. "And he should. You're brilliant."

"No need to flatter me, Liv," Alex said. "I'm already spending the night with you."

Both women blushed at Alex's comment. She hadn't meant to say it out loud, but again she wasn't going to qualify it or make excuses.

Olivia took a deep breath and sat her wine glass down.

"Actually, that kind of is a good segue into something I wanted to talk to you about," Olivia said.

Alex set her wine glass down, too, and took a deep breath. She hoped she hadn't crossed a line, but she was nervous.

"Alex, I…I don't really know how to say this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it," Olivia started it. "I think I am developing feelings for you."

"You...what?" Alex said. She was thrilled, but it wasn't what she was expecting.

"I'm sorry if this makes things weird. I know we're friends. I know we rarely see each other. I know I just got out of a relationship a few months back. But, these past few days have been great," Olivia said. "In fact, I think they kind of rekindled old feelings I had for you. Feelings that took me awhile to get over."

"You…wait, you had feelings for me? You do now?" Alex said.

Now it was Olivia's turn to panic as Alex hadn't said one way or the other how she felt. She just kept asking questions. "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. Maybe it was too soon."

Alex quickly reached out for Olivia's hand, sensing the brunette was about to get up and pace – something Alex knew Olivia did when she was nervous.

"Liv, it's ok," Alex said. "I'm just surprised. And…I feel the same way. About all of it."

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