Disclaimer: I own the story. If I owned anything else, this is clearly what I would do with them.

Summary: A rough patch. Old habits die hard.

Author's Note: I hope you like. Thanks for reading and reviewing:)

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"Do you have any idea who would do something like this?" Olivia softly asked the lady positioned across from her in the interrogation room.

The lady shook her head, running a hand through her short brown hair. Joey's aunt, Amelia Delacruz, had arrived a few hours ago from Ohio. They had notified her right away of her sister's murder but as a mother of two and a special education teacher, she had to wait until the following morning to take the 6 a.m. flight. She came into the precinct flustered, as if she too had been up for days, and Olivia had immediately led her into an interrogation room.

"Do you know if Cassandra was having any problems?" Olivia tried another question.

Amelia looked up. "Well, she was in the process of trying to get Joey moved to Hudson Guild's pre-school." Olivia nodded for her to continue. "The principal at his old school, P.S 33, was giving her a hard time for moving him and she was pretty upset about that."

Olivia wrote this down. "Why was he giving her a hard time?"

Amelia folded her hands. "Apparently they have had a lot of children leave the school this year. It's not doing so well. Cassie told me she wasn't seeing progress with Joey and looked into Hudson as a better place for him."

"Any financial problems or other things in her life that you can think of?"

She shook her head. "Joey's father passed away two years ago and it was hard for them for a while, but Cassie had finally gotten everything worked out and they had been doing well." She wiped at a tear. "Poor Joey, first his father, then his mother, he doesn't need this."

Olivia pursed her lips and gave the women a sympathetic squeeze on her forearm. "You wanna see him?"

When Amelia answered, Olivia rose and led her to the children's observation room where Alex was playing a game with Joey. As they entered the observation part, Amelia smiled and went over to the glass, placing her hand on it. She watched them play for a moment before dropping her hand and turning toward Olivia.

"She's really good with him." Amelia smiled and turned back to the glass.

Olivia grinned. "Yeah, she really is. She's the lawyer in charge of Cassandra's case. Her name is Alex Cabot."

Amelia nodded and turned to look at Olivia again. "Can I…"

"Sure." Olivia opened the door leading into the room and allowed Amelia to walk through. Alex looked up when they entered and smiled, knowing who it was immediately. Joey continued to play and didn't look up until Amelia was crouched down next to him. He gave her a sideways glance before smiling and returning to his toys. Amelia looked at Alex, giving her a small smile of thanks.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, okay Joey? Your aunt is here to play with you." Alex smiled at the boy and stood, walking over to the door where Olivia still lingered.

Olivia smiled when she neared and allowed Alex back through the door before following, closing the door behind them. Alex crossed her arms and looked through the window.

"Did you check her out?" Alex needed to know.

Olivia frowned. "Of course, Alex, do you think I'm stupid?"

She hadn't meant it to come out as mean but Alex wasn't going to answer her. "I just want to make sure he is safe."

"I know Alex, so do I." Olivia moved closer but stopped when Alex continued to stand there, seemingly ignoring her presence.

"Tell me about her." Alex moved closer to the glass to watch.

Olivia knew Alex was clearly too wrapped up in this case. "She's a special education teacher in Cleveland, Ohio. She has two other children and a really nice husband who works for an insurance company. Anything else?"

Alex shook her head. Olivia walked toward her and placed a hand on her back. Alex finally turned to look at her, turning away from the glass.

"Olivia," She started and then stopped, bringing her arms tighter around her.

"What?" Olivia asked softly, trying to look into her eyes.

Alex let Olivia catch her eyes which were slowly welling up. Olivia stepped forward which caused Alex to take a step back. At Olivia's worried expression, Alex shook her head and looked down.

"I can't do this." Alex whispered, barely loudly enough for Alex to hear.

"Can't do what?" Olivia looked at the glass behind Alex and then back.

"This." Alex looked up, meeting Olivia's confused expression. "Us."

Olivia's eyes widened. That wasn't what she thought was going to come out of Alex's mouth. Olivia's eyes quickly welled with tears and she looked into Alex's eyes.

"Wh…Why?" Olivia fumbled for the word.

Alex bit her lip. "It's just all so…sudden. I mean, I've been gone, for a really long time."

Olivia put her hands on her hips, she wasn't letting go without a fight. "Yeah, and I thought we were on the same page, that it scared the hell out of both of us. What happened Alex? I thought we were doing fine."

Alex shook her head, refusing still to look at Olivia. "Three years is a long time," She repeated. "You moved on. And I had another life and then I came back and it's all been so fast."

Olivia knew Alex was rambling. "Alex, stop, okay? I never moved on, we didn't think you were coming back. But you did and I thought that we were okay."

Olivia put her hands on Alex's arms and Alex let her. "We're fine, Olivia. But I can't just pick this relationship back up where we left off." She looked into Olivia's eyes. "In fact, when I left, you were in the process of pretending like we never even had a relationship."

Alex's words burned and Olivia dropped her hands. Alex took one last angry look at her before turning and walking back through the door to Joey and Amelia. Olivia stood there for a few minutes after the door had shut before making her way out into the squad room. Her heart was pounding and her face was hot. Olivia slowly, as if in a trance, walked toward the doors.

When you walk away, I count the steps that you take

Elliot looked up as she walked by their desks. "Liv, you okay?"

When Olivia didn't answer he frowned and watched her walk out of the squad room.

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As the smoke smell filled her lungs, Alex smiled and exhaled. She glanced around the packed room, letting her eyes scan the bar area for any signs of familiarity. When she saw no one she recognized, Alex made her way over to the leather stools and sat down. Almost immediately she felt the presence of the bartender.

"Alex?" She looked up at him, watching him blink in disbelief.

Alex smiled and nodded. "The one and only."

"I thought you…" He was still staring at her as if she would vanish at any moment.

She shook her head. "Long story."

He seemed to get that she didn't want to talk about it and nodded. He leaned over the bar and kissed her cheek briefly, then pulled back and blushed. "It's great to have you back then. One straight tequila coming up." He gave her a toothy grin before pushing off the bar to get her drink.

Alex smiled and sighed. At least some things don't change. She looked around the room again before pulling a pack of cigarettes from her purse that she had picked up after work. She inhaled deeply once the cigarette was lit and let the smoke sit for a minute before blowing it out. When she was Emily, she never touched them or tequila. Red wine was more of Emily's thing. Just like men were Emily's thing. Emily also enjoyed long walks on the beach and cozy nights at home cooking masterpiece dinners she saw on the Food Network Channel. Emily couldn't be more different from Alex if she tried. Which she did try, thinking of the most contrasting hobbies and forcing herself to be the best at them. Alex took another long drag of her cigarette as Josh, she remembered, put her drink on the bar in front of her. She smiled at him and downed it within seconds. She placed the glass in front of him and he winked at her before setting off to get her another. She wasn't interested in Josh, she never was, but Emily would have been, anything to be different from Alex.

After her forth shot of tequila, Alex felt her head start to spin. It had been a long time since she had felt the potent alcohol slide down her throat. She noticed that Josh hadn't been back to refill her glass and she looked around the bar to see where he was. When she spotted him, he looked at her and shook his head. Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed another cigarette from the pack. She felt someone slide onto the stool next to her and she smirked, hoping it was someone entertaining at least. She turned and sighed when she realized who it was.

"Fin." She took another drag. "Nice to see you here."

Fin nodded and glanced at the cigarette in her hand. "Hey Cabot. Never knew you to be one to smoke."

Alex shrugged and held out the pack. "Want one?"

Fin shook his head and ordered a water when Josh came back over. Josh looked from Fin to Alex, concerned. Fin gave him a look as if to say everything was okay and Josh put his water on the counter and walked away. He took a long sip before turning back to her.

"So, we've missed you." Fin tried.

Alex offered him a small smile. "Witness protection was boring compared to working with you guys."

Fin laughed and offered her a sip of his water, which she gladly accepted. He watched her place her head on her forearm, laying it down on the bar.

"Hey, how about we get you home?" Fin hoped she would agree since he really didn't want to leave her here to find a way home herself. He was glad when she nodded and let him help her from the bar stool. He looked back, glancing at Josh as he put his arm around her. Josh smiled, glad someone was helping her home so he wouldn't have to call a taxi like old times. Fin nodded before walking them both out of the bar.

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Olivia shoved the key into her door, semi-glad to be home. She closed the door behind her and threw the key onto the table near the door before realizing the light was already on. Her breath hitched in her throat. She hadn't been home in days but knew that she hadn't left the light on the last time she was here. Olivia took a quick inventory of the living room and kitchen areas, as much as she could see.

"Olivia, it's me." A man's voice came from down the hallway, knowing she would be concerned.

Olivia let the air she was holding in go. "Thanks."

She started toward the hallway when something on the couch caught her eye. She stopped and walked toward it, sitting down on the couch before grabbing it in her hands. Olivia looked down at it before burying her face in the material. Alex must have left her sweater the last time she had been there. Tears welled in Olivia's eyes as she inhaled the soft strawberries and crème scent.

"Liv, I…" Blake stopped abruptly at the end of the hallway when he noticed her sitting on the couch.

He cautiously walked toward her, hoping she would want to be near him. When he got closer he noticed that a steady stream of tears were making their way down her face. Blake sat down next to her, forgetting that he had a bunch of boxes left to take to his car. Olivia looked up at him when he sat, clutching the sweater tighter in her hands. No explanation was needed as he took her in his arms, allowing her to cry into his shirt while rubbing her back.

And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor and they smell just like you