Chapter Seven:

"Damn..." Abbie Carmichael let out a low, impressed whistle at the size of the reception hall, eyeing the high ceilings and elegant, cloth-draped tables with approval. "Hey, Petrovsky, how much did they shell out for this wedding?"

Lena Petrovsky rolled her eyes. Unfortunately, she had come to expect this kind of behavior from Abbie even though they had not seen each other in several years. "Has anyone ever told you that you are incredibly rude, Ms. Carmichael?"

"A time or two," Abbie said, rocking back on her heels and placing her hands behind her back in an unconvincing gesture of innocence.

"Are you sure we're allowed to be here?" Jane asked Alex, who looked just as out of place as she felt even though she still carried herself with a respectable amount of poise and grace.

"Not entirely," Alex murmured. "I have a feeling Petrovsky is up to something."

"Y'know, at first I was pretty freaked out when I saw Abbie. Then I thought it was pretty cool having a body double. Now I'm just terrified that she's going to ruin my name and get into trouble somehow... what if she streaked through the rehearsal dinner and they posted her picture on the internet?" Jane asked, her eyes widening in horror. "If it went viral, I'd never be able to convince the guys at work it wasn't me."

"Nonsense, Jane," said Maura, who was listening to their conversation with unconcealed interest. "You have a heart shaped birthmark above your left buttock that I'm sure Abbie does not possess. Its absence in the photographic evidence would clear you of any wrongdoing."

"Too much information," Jane hissed, resisting the temptation to clamp a hand over the blonde medical examiner's pretty mouth. She was gorgeous, intelligent, and fascinating to converse with, but sometimes she really wished that Maura would keep certain facts to herself.

"Aunt Lena? Wow, you have an entire posse! Are you a gang leader now?" All six of the younger women turned to look in the direction of the new voice, watching as a woman with curly brown hair and a rosy, smiling face approached them in a sleek purple dress. Not many people could pull that color off, but she looked very nice. Alex and Maura glanced at each other, then back to the woman, and nodded their approval.

"Hello, Chelsea," Petrovsky said fondly, opening her arms for a hug and greeting her niece. "I thought I would bring the entertainment tonight."

"Please tell me you didn't hire prostitutes," the bride-to-be added cheerfully. "Oh well, if you did, at least they're expensive ones! I think that's a Vuitton handbag?"

Maura smiled down at the bag. "Despite your insinuation that I am a prostitute, which I am going to assume is a joke, I am glad that you appreciate my handbag."

Jane, who was looking particularly smug, nudged Olivia with her elbow. "Handbags get you laid, girl," she said to her fellow detective in a loud whisper. "Trust me..."

"For Alex, it's shoes," Olivia responded.

Alex laughed. "I suppose both Maura and I are easily bought. Hello, Chelsea... Petrovsky?"

"Yes. Aunt Lena is my father's older sister," Chelsea explained. "And you are?"

"Alexandra Cabot."

Chelsea laughed. "Really? Aunt Lena has told me stories about you! You're the one she threw in jail all those years ago for being a smartass in her court, right? She tells that story all the time." Both Alex and Olivia were relieved that Chelsea did not bring up Alex's fake death and stint in WITSEC, although they could tell from her actions that she knew about it. Surely Petrovsky had mentioned the shooting and subsequent resurrection of her (secret) favorite ADA.

Alex had the decency to blush while Olivia sported an evil grin on her face. Yeah, well, this smart ass is all mine, she said, placing a possessive hand on Alex's behind. "That'd be right," she said, extending her other hand for a shake. "I'm Detective Olivia Benson. I doubt your Aunt has mentioned me by name, but I'm sure I've given her my fair share of headaches over the years as well."

"Also right," Petrovsky mumbled.

Chelsea shook her hand. "And who are the twins?" she asked, gesturing from Jane to Abbie.

"Actually, funny story... we just met last night. I'm Detective Jane Rizzoli and this is my girlfriend, Maura."

"I'm the chief medical examiner for the Boston PD."

"And I'm Abbie Carmichael... another former ADA that argued a few court cases before your Aunt. I think I gave her more headaches than Alex–"

"-with your outside the courtroom behavior," Petrovsky quipped.

"-and this is my girlfriend, Serena. She actually took my job when I went to work for the Feds."

Chelsea's eyes widened. "Aunt Lena, you brought six law enforcement lesbians to my wedding reception?" For a moment, Olivia was worried that the young woman was upset. Then, Chelsea squealed and gave Petrovsky a giant, bone-crushing hug. "That's so awesome! It's the best wedding gift ever! They'll terrify Mother."

"That's us," Jane joked, "the Law Enforcement Lesbians. We should be like the Justice League and form our own group. I call Batman!"

"Would that make me Robin?" Maura asked, not sounding pleased with the prospect. "The online comic fan community often infers that they are in a homosexual relationship as a joke."

"Nah, you know who you'd be? Jean Grey from X-Men... You don't look like her at all, but she's got telekinesis and telepathy and uses her brain for all this cool stuff."

"Ooh, can I be Catwoman?" Abbie drawled, trailing a teasing finger over Serena's exposed collarbone, making the blonde shiver. "I do own a latex corset somewhere..."

"Saving the world when it's in trouble..." She shot a glance at Abbie from the corner of her eye. The Texan was looking longingly over at the buffet table, which the servers were beginning to set up. "Or maybe causing it."

"You got that right, sweet cheeks," Abbie said. "C'mon, I wanna meet this mother of yours, Chelsea."

Alex groaned. "Oh no... just don't let Abbie get her paws on any more alcohol. She'll probably do something even more stupid than usual."

"Hey, I resemble that remark! I'm not stupid, just..."

"Annoying?" Olivia substituted. Alex, who was getting tired of the distracting touch on her behind, carefully removed Olivia's hand when she noticed Petrovsky watching them with a subtle smirk. Even though she had gotten to know more about the Judge in the last few hours than she had ever imagined she would want to, she was still a little uncomfortable. Sometimes she forgot that she had not returned to the District Attorney's office yet, so she and Olivia were not required to hide their relationship.

"May I ask a favor of you six?" Chelsea smoothed down the front of her dress, glancing over her shoulder to check on the guests arriving and sitting down at the tables. "It's free seating tonight, but I think I want you over at my table." She gestured to the big table in the front. "Some of the cousins will probably throw a fuss, but I think it'll drive my twin and my mother absolutely insane. It'll be payback for the hell they've put me through for the past few months getting ready for this shindig. I swear, Theresa has become a total Bridezilla. It's well past the point where Jason and I just want to elope."

Alex gave Olivia a nudge. "Olivia and I felt a little like that when we told our colleagues at work about our relationship," she said. "Spending a week on some exotic island sounded a lot more appealing than coming clean with our friends. The teasing still hasn't stopped and it's been over a year."

Abbie gave her friend a playful hip bump. "Hey, Cabot, it's hard to score points against you. I'm gonna take any advantage I can get!"

"You're just jealous," Olivia said, leaning over to give the taller blonde attorney a kiss.

They were interrupted by the sound of a throat being cleared no more than a few feet away.

Slowly, Olivia pulled away, breaking the short kiss. It had not been inappropriate, but she still felt a little embarrassed. Alex's expression, however, was cool and unreadable as she turned to face the noise. "Yes?"

"Who, may I ask, are you, and why are you kissing another woman at my wedding reception?"