It was early in their relationship. The question seemed to hang in the air. She'd been waiting for it for a long time. Alex was sitting across from her at the other end of the couch in sweats and a T-shirt. She had reached forward, blonde ponytail swinging, to grab another French Fry from the food spread out on the coffee table. As she fell back, munching, she had asked what would, for anybody else, have been an innocuous question.
"So tell me about your family."
Olivia froze for a fraction of a second. She had already decided to tell Alex the truth, but she had hoped for a little more warning. The hesitation registered with Alex who knew Olivia too well to miss her reaction. Alex settled back and levelled her gaze at the brunette.
"Liv, what's wrong?"
Olivia took a deep breath.
"I am the product of a rape."
... and she told the whole story. The bare bones, anyway. Enough detail for Alex to see what she'd gotten herself into.
When she finished, Olivia sucked in another breath and clamped her jaw shut.
Alex nodded slightly, processing the information. She reached out and ran a fingertip over Olivia's knuckles absentmindedly.
"Wow," she breathed quietly.
Olivia's heart was pounding.
"True beauty rises from pain," Alex whispered, taking Olivia's hand in hers and looking her in the eye.
Olivia smiled and her bottom lip quivered.
"Hey," Alex said softly, moving a little closer, "what's going on?"
Olivia looked down and shook her head.
What Alex did next was unexpected. She moved forward and crawled into Olivia's lap, straddling her legs so they could stay face to face.
"I don't care," she whispered, taking both of Olivia's hands in hers.
"I'm sure you've heard the whole song and dance routine about you being the angel of SVU, so important for victims... and it's all true. And deep down, I know that you know it's true. But let me just talk from my perspective. No heresay," she smiled and Olivia smiled with her.
"This is an incredible relationship for me. I let you know my personal life, my secrets, my fears. I don't do this a lot! I let you touch me, hold me... I couldn't do that if I didn't trust you, completely." She finished by holding Olivia's hands in hers, over her heart, "and I trust you completely because I know who you are. You are your own person; gentle, loving..."
Olivia swallowed, hard. Alex leaned forward and touched her nose to Olivia's.
"I'm falling in love with you. I hope you'll feel the same."
"Alex, I'm already there."
Alex smiled, "Can I hold you?"
Olivia nodded and Alex stood, pulling Olivia to her feet.
"Let's get some sleep."