A/N: Seriously reading your reviews make me want to stay up all night and write! Thank you! Only one chapter tonight, I need sleep. :) Enjoy!
Ringing the doorbell of her childhood home Alex was suddenly nervous. She'd stopped at the florist down the road and picked up a little child's size arrangement for Caroline. It was made up of five colorful daisies. She really hoped the little girl liked it.
Alex wasn't use to children not liking her. It was one thing she'd never had a problem with before and it was one element that she found very useful working in Special Victims, so Caroline being adamantly against her was throwing her off kilter. For the sake of whatever she and Casey were trying to develop she hoped she could overcome the barrier with Caroline soon.
Answering the door, Casey finds Alex standing there with a small tea sized vase of daisies. A smile falls across Alex's face as she sees the redhead. "I brought these for Caroline," Alex says with a smile.
"Aw, that is sweet Alex. She an Owen should be back in a little bit with dinner." Casey says inviting Alex into the house. Walking through the front hall Casey smirks at Alex and states, "You know if I didn't know better I might think you are trying to win her heart."
Following Casey into the kitchen, Alex softly says, "Well, what can I say? I always wanted a little girl to spoil and you just so happen to have one. Plus she is an almost identical copy to the redhead who seems to have stolen my heart..."
Alex sets the flowers down on the island and turns to face Casey. Casey smiles and replies, "So who is this redhead that stole your heart?"
"Oh, she is wonderful. I think you might like her, although, she has this awful problem with kissing." Alex laughs.
Casey frowns, "And what would that problem be?"
"I can't kiss her when I want to..." Alex whispers as Casey approaches her. Casey smiles as she takes the hemline of Alex's shirt in her fingers and slowly pulls Alex to her. As she closes the distance between her and Alex, Casey whispers, "Let me fix that."
Slowly Casey presses her lips to Alex's again. At first the kiss begins as a series of small chaste kisses, just enjoying the soft feel of each other's lips, although soon desire grows and the kiss begins to deepen. Alex places a hand at the small of Casey's back pulling her closer as Casey takes Alex's bottom lip between hers. It isn't long before she is lightly running her tongue against the blondes lip asking for entrance with her request being granted.
Casey is unaware of how long Alex and her have been kissing but by the time she hears Owen announcing that he and Caroline are home from the back hallway, her hands are tangled in Alex's hair and she is now pressed against the counter. Breaking the kiss quickly, she and Alex try to regain control of their breathing. By the time her daughter and brother enter the kitchen they have been able to achieve some composure.
"Mommy!" Caroline yells as she runs into the kitchen and into her mother's arms. "Uncle Owen got me cookies."
"He did? Isn't that special." Casey says smiling and looking at Owen with a gaze that says she doesn't approve.
Owen holds up his hands in surrender and says, "Don't blame me she gave me the face."
"The face?" Alex questions.
Casey laughs and says, "Caroline show Miss Alex the face." Caroline looks at Alex and back to Casey and says, "No."
"Aw, please Care-bear for Mommy." Casey begs.
Caroline furrows her brow and sternly says, "No put me down Mommy."
Casey does and Caroline runs upstairs. Owen shrugs his shoulders as he hands Alex the food. "Why don't you all unpack and I will go check on her. Set a place for Kim, she should be back any minute." Owen says as he leaves Casey and Alex in the kitchen.
"I am sorry Casey. I hope I didn't upset her too much." Alex says quietly.
Casey grabs some placemats and napkins and hands them to Alex. "Alex, she just has to get use to you being around. She will get over it once she realizes you are here to stay." Casey says pulling plates out of a cabinet and walking to the breakfast table to help Alex.
Alex pauses setting out the napkins and looks at Casey. "So am I here to stay Casey?" she asks with a wide grin.
Casey flushes and begins to stutter, "I-I don't know Alex."
"What do you know Casey? I don't mean to push, but you keep kissing me and that last kiss was…well let's just say that if Owen hadn't come back who knows where we would be right now." Alex says in a loud whisper not wanting anyone other than Casey to hear her.
"Alex drop it." Casey snaps.
Frowning Alex agrees as the front door opens and Kim walks in calling out, "Hi family!"
Walking into the kitchen Kim can sense the tension. Trying to break the ice she says, "Hey Alex, I didn't know you would be joining us for dinner."
"Neither did I," Alex replies, "I am beginning to wonder if it was a bit of a mistake," Alex adds looking Casey in the eye before adding, "I seem to upset poor little Caroline."
Casey understands what Alex really means. As Kim and Alex talk about Caroline and her ability to bond with people since John's death, Casey thinks about what it is that keeps causing her to go so hot and cold with Alex. She also wonders what on earth compelled her to kiss Alex like that just a little while ago.
Casey doesn't necessarily regret the kiss. As a matter of a fact she enjoyed it quite a bit, she just still feels guilty. It's her guilt that upset her when Alex said if Owen hadn't come home that kiss probably would have turned into way more. In truth Alex was right and maybe that is what caused her to snap at Alex. As much as Casey might be starting to feel okay with the idea of dating Alex she doesn't know if she would be comfortable being intimate with her.
"Casey," Alex says touching Casey's arm, "Are you okay."
"Yeah, why?" Casey answers realizing Owen and Caroline have rejoined them in the kitchen. Everyone is staring at her so now she wonders how long they have been trying to get her attention.
Alex smiles, "You just kind of zoned out there for a minute. Are you ready to eat?"
Casey nodded as they all sat at the table. Dinner went relatively smooth with the exception of Caroline wanting nothing to do with Alex. After dinner Casey put Caroline to bed while Owen cleaned and Kim and Alex knocked out some unpacking. By the time Casey was finished with Caroline she herself felt very tired and ready for bed. Everyone agreed that they could continue unpacking tomorrow knowing very well that it would probably be a week before everything was finished.
Owen and Kim left first, allowing Casey a private moment with Alex. Standing in the doorway, Casey looks at the floor she wants to apologize for snapping at Alex earlier she just doesn't know what exactly to say or how to say it. Finally taking a breath Casey says, "I am sorry I snapped at you earlier Alex. You had every right to ask me what you did. The answer to your question is I do like you Alex and I want to spend time with you in more than a just friends kind of way, but I just feel bad about it at times, like I am hurting John or something. I am sorry Alex it's not fair to you."
Lifting Casey's chin up so that she can look into her eyes, Alex says, "Casey I am more than happy to go at whatever speed you want or need to go at to be comfortable. You don't need to feel bad about needing space occasionally from me all you have to do is ask. Right now I would be more than happy to cook dinner with you and Caroline, or take you out to a nice dinner alone. I am happy to just be with you and have the chance to be with you. Why don't you just let me show you that and then when you are comfortable you tell me, and we can decide what we want to do from there. Does that sound okay?"
"Yeah it does, but can I still kiss you while we figure that out?" Casey says with a sly smile.
Leaning in to place a chaste kiss to Casey's lips Alex replies, "Yeah I think we can work that out."
Casey kisses Alex back and whispers, "Good."
Breaking the kiss and stepping out on the front stoop Alex turns to look at Casey again. "Casey," Alex starts, "Will you go to dinner with me tomorrow night?"
Smiling Casey asks, "Alexandra Cabot, are you asking me out on a date?"
"Why yes, I am Casey Novak, so what do you say?"
"Yes Alex, yes."
The next night Alex arrives five minutes early to pick Casey up for their date. She is super nervous. It's almost laughable because she doesn't even get this nervous before court. Alex just wants everything to be perfect for Casey.
She made reservations at a nice French restaurant that Serena recommended and had flowers delivered to Casey earlier so she could enjoy them while getting ready for this evening. Alex even cleaned her car so everything would be perfect for Casey. Mentally she laughed at herself in a way it was like it was her first date ever. If she was being absolutely truthful she was hoping it would be her last first date ever.
Owen opened the door and let her inside. Caroline was sitting on the stairs leading up to the bedrooms wearing a full on pout. Alex smiled at her remembering sitting in the same spot upset with her own parents for going out to leave her with a nanny for the night.
Approaching Caroline carefully Alex sat down next to her. "Hey kiddo you want to know a secret?" Alex asked softly.
Caroline just looked at her but didn't say anything. Smiling Alex said, "I use to sit right where you are sitting when I was a little girl waiting on my Mommy to go out." Caroline half smiled at her still clearly upset. "You know what, she always came home and your Mommy will to." Caroline smiled a little more but still didn't say anything to Alex.
Alex hears Casey walking down the stairs and stands. As Casey comes into view she loses her breath. Casey looks gorgeous. She is in a beautiful black dress and strappy heels. Alex swallows hard, trying to will her body to breathe regularly.
Casey smiles when she sees Alex as she comes downstairs. Alex is dressed in a beautiful white form fitting dress with her hair down and she is wearing her contacts again. Casey doesn't think she has ever seen Alex looking so beautiful. Reaching the bottom of the stairs Alex asks, "Are you ready to go?"
"I sure am." Casey answers. Turning to Caroline Casey kneels and says, "Caroline sweetie, Mommy will be home after you fall asleep. Don't worry though Uncle Owen and Aunt Kim are here to play with you. Plus, I think Aunt Kim has a big surprise for you in the kitchen right now." Caroline smiles brightly and Casey continues, "She made cupcakes and they are all ready for you to ice and decorate!"
Caroline squeals and runs into the kitchen. Casey bids Owen a farewell and heads outside with Alex. Opening the passenger side door for Casey, Alex asks, "Casey, are you sure you are ok with me driving?" Casey nods as she climbs in and buckles her seat belt.
A little while later Casey finds herself sitting in a beautiful French restaurant waiting on what is sure to be a delicious meal while drinking an amazing glass of wine. She is still brutally nervous and feels like she is saying the wrong thing at every corner. All she can do is pray that Alex doesn't think she is being as ridiculous as she currently feels.
Alex realizes that Casey is nervous which is good because she is nervous too. "Casey I have an idea," Alex says, "Let's play a game, like an ice breaker."
Casey smiles and replies, "Okay, I am listening."
"I ask you a question you answer and you ask me one. You have to answer the question, no exceptions. You game?" Alex asks.
"Yes."
"Okay, what is your favorite color?"
Casey smiles, "Blue, yours?"
"Red, your question." Alex says.
"That was my question." Casey states.
Alex laughs and shakes her head, "Doesn't count, I asked it you just inquired mine as well."
"That's the same as questioned, but fine." Casey pauses to think then asks, "What is your favorite holiday?"
"Christmas, yours?"
"Thanksgiving I love the Macy's day parade. Why is Christmas your favorite?"
Alex gets a goofy grin on her face, "I love it, because it feels so magical. Christmas lights are my favorite part. I dream of one day having a house in the suburbs and covering it with lights. You know all Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation. I can see it now, my kids and wife on the front lawn cheering me on. It will be amazing."
Casey laughs at Alex, "That sounds amazing I would love to see that."
"Maybe you will be on the lawn cheering me on." Alex replies with a smile, before adding, "What is your favorite type of weather?"
Casey smiles as she swirls her wine in her glass she replies, "That is an odd question, but I love it when it rains. It is so relaxing, I love to lie around and listen to the rain. After it passes I like to go outside and play in puddles. I know it sounds childish, but I have loved the rain forever. What is your favorite type of weather?"
"Snow," Alex begins, "I love the snow. I love to ski and make snow men and have snowball fights. I act like a total kid when it snows. Once Olivia, Elliot and I were having a snowball fight in front of the courthouse, well a very mild one, but I hit Donnelly with a snowball as she walked out. I thought she was going to kill me, but I couldn't stop laughing. Olivia had to drag me away."
Casey was full on laughing imagining Alex and her snowball fight. The waitress arrives with the food. Alex smiles, she loves hearing Casey's laugh. It's beautiful.
Casey catches Alex starring at her and asks, "What are you thinking right now?"
Alex quietly says, "It's not your question."
"Answer anyway."
Alex smiles at Casey dominance, "I was thinking about you and how I love hearing you laugh. I think you laugh is beautiful, I would like to hear it every day."
Letting her words sink in with Casey, Alex takes a breath and asks, "Have you ever played a sport?"
"Yes, and I still do, I play softball. What about you?" Casey asks trying her lamb, "This is delicious."
Alex smiles she is pleased with Casey liking her meal, "I am glad you like it. I use to dance."
Casey bites her lip she has one major question she would like to know the answer to but is nervous to ask it. Alex knows Casey wants to ask something but is nervous, "Go ahead and ask"
Casey takes a deep breath and asks, "Why did you sleep around as much as you did?"
"I like sex. I never led anyone on ever. They all knew it was a one night stand and nothing more." Alex replies. She figured that question would come up and is happy it is out of the way. Looking into Casey's eyes she asks, "I know you like women obviously but have you ever slept with one?"
"Yes," Casey answers with a quirk of the eyebrow. Alex's game of questions has taken an interesting turn. Casey follows Alex's question with, "Have you slept with men ever or just women?"
"I experimented a lot in high school and college. So yes, I have slept with men, but only prefer women." Alex replies. Hoping to change conversation away from sex she asks, "Do you want more kids?"
"Yes, I do. I wish Caroline had a brother or a sister. I am very grateful for Owen." Casey answers, and asks, "How many kids do you want?"
"A lot," Alex laughs seeing Casey's eyes go wide. "Maybe three. I love kids. Plus, I always wanted siblings myself. Obviously that never happened, but it would have been nice." Alex finishes.
Casey grins, "Have you ever been in love?"
Alex pushes her food around her plate and sheepishly answers, "Yes."
"Who was she?"
"You."
