Alex looked up from the motion that she was preparing when she heard the faint ringing of a telephone. After making sure that neither hers' nor Olivia's had fallen off their respective night stands and under the bed, she began to search for the ringing phone. As she neared their dresser, she realized that the ringing was coming from the cell phone she had found hidden in Olivia's drawer the other day while putting up the laundry. She glanced back at her sleeping wife before opening the drawer and pulling out the phone.
"Olivia Benson's phone," Alex said flipping the phone open and answering it only to be meet with silence, "Hello, Olivia Benson's phone."
Alex could only hear the steady breathing of the person on the other end of the call.
"This is Detective Olivia Benson's phone, how can I help you?" Alex asked again.
"Sorry, wrong number," A female voice said before disconnecting the call.
Alex stared at the phone before glancing up at Olivia's sleeping form. She knew that the call was not just a wrong number, but that she was never meant to answer that phone. Taking a deep breath and silently praying for forgiveness, she pulled the number back up from the call log and quickly hit the send button.
"Liv, Alex answered the phone," The voice said answering the phone.
"Yes, I did," Alex answered, "Who is this?"
"Oh god," the voice said before the call was disconnected again.
"Liv, wake up," Alex said as she sat down on the bed with the phone still in her hand.
"What is it?" Olivia mumbled as she snuggled closer to Alex sighing at the contact.
"Your phone was ringing."
"Oh," Olivia said sitting up immediately alert and reaching for her phone on the nightstand, "I never heard it."
"Not that one," Alex said holding the phone in her hand out for Olivia to take, "This one."
"Did she say what was wrong?" Olivia asked taking the phone from Alex
"Only that it was a wrong number and when I called it back she thought it was you, apparently, and informed me that I had answered the phone."
"She didn't say where she was or what was wrong?"
"No, nothing, I promise."
"Give her a few minutes to call back. We have a system worked out if someone else answers the phone."
"That someone else being me?" Alex asked already knowing the answer.
"Yeah," Olivia answered not really focusing on the conversation as she silently willed the phone to ring again.
"Who is she?" Alex asked pulling the phone from Olivia's hands getting her attention, "Who are you trying to protect that you don't want me to know about?"
Olivia looked up at Alex and couldn't help but laugh and smile at the attorney.
"Find something funny?"
"Yeah, you," Olivia said as she leaned forward and kissed Alex, "Most women would be off on a rant about how I was cheating on them, but instead here you want to know who I'm protecting."
"That's because, despite what I said or did yesterday, I have never questioned your faithfulness to me."
"Then, why?" Olivia asked as she studied the blonde.
"Because I had to corner you at something to make you open up, and your trigger button has always been your faithfulness. I know that despite what you say you have never forgiven yourself for seeking out comfort while I was in witsec, despite what I tell you."
Olivia nodded as she looked away; there were times that she hated that Alex knew her better than she knew herself and this was one of them times.
"Look at me," Alex whispered as she gently turned Olivia's head so that she was looking into her brown eyes, "I have said it before and I will say it again, you have never cheated on me, despite what you think. I told you that night in the motel room to move on to find someone else. I didn't know how long I would be stuck in witsec and it wasn't fair to make you wait for me."
Olivia nodded her head in agreement.
"I know that was to please me," Alex said smiling, "But I'll take it. Now, who was on the other end of the phone and how much danger did I put her in by answering the phone then calling her back?"
"That was Michelle, Wesley's fiancée, and she shouldn't be in anymore danger than what she was already in, but something has to be wrong for her to call."
"What do you mean?"
"She started receiving threatening phone calls and letters when Wesley was first suspected and questioned."
"Why; she wasn't with him when he committed the rapes?"
"No, but she stood by him and didn't believe that he had raped those women which really pissed off some people."
"By standing by her fiancé, she began to receive threatening phone calls."
"Yeah and once he was arrested, it only got worse."
"How?"
"Phone calls at all hours, threatening letters, her car was vandalized as well as their apartment. When she attended class, they would call her a rapist then, when they discovered she was pregnant, they began threatening the baby."
"So, she's been hiding in that motel for protection? Olivia, that is one of the worse motels around here."
"I know, but the manager knows me from a few cases I've worked there and is doing me a favor by allowing her to stay there free of charge. It was the best I could do."
"Without you charging everything and me discovering," Alex said filing in the rest of the sentence.
"Yeah," Olivia said staring at the designs on the bedspread unable to look at Alex, "I bought us burner phones so she could contact me any time without it being traced."
"She was told to say she had a wrong number if I discovered the phone and answered it?'
"Probably not the brightest idea I've ever had."
"Agreed," Alex said standing, "Come on, get dressed, and let's go."
"Go to her?" Olivia asked hesitantly as she stood as well.
"Yes," Alex answered as she pulled a sweater from her drawer and over her head, "Then we will bring her back here and she can stay in our guest room for as long as she needs."
"Are you serious, Alex? Do you know what you're doing?"
"Yes, I do, Olivia. We are going to go and pick up the mother of your grandchild and bring her back to our apartment so she can stay with us. Now, hurry up before she runs thinking I'm some jealous wife that's going to hunt her down and stake my claim on you by attacking her."
"Alex, why aren't you jealous?" Olivia asked as she scrambled after her.
"Because," Alex answered stopping as she turned to face Olivia pulling her to her, "I know your heart belongs to me and we both have been through too much to get where we are right now to lose everything with a quick romp in the hay."
"Forsaking all others," Olivia whispered as she brought Alex's lips to hers in a gentle kiss that was so full of love that it brought tears to both their eyes.
