A/N: Another one down! I am slightly proud of myself right now. :) I hope you enjoy. Thank you for still reading and reviewing.

Alex relaxed on the deck by the pool, enjoying the last bit of their cruise. They'd been at sea now for seven days and soon would find themselves at port, looking for another adventure. This time, however, she didn't find herself nervous about the trip ending. She knew they would not be splitting up, which was a calming position to be in for once.

Over the last week, Casey had held true to her words about taking it slow. Their intimate escapades hadn't moved beyond kissing and light above the clothes groping. While it may have frustrated the blonde a bit, she respected Casey's reasons. Yet, in a weak moment, two nights earlier, Alex had tried hinting to a repeat of their first morning aboard, but Casey had sadly turned her down. The redhead admitted her intense desire to do so, but also confessed that she wouldn't be able to stop there the next time, a thought that made her tingly all over.

Alex understood her desire to wait, and conceded that she too would most likely fail. So, instead they'd cuddled up on the couch and shared fun memories of childhood. The more stories Casey told her, the less she could figure out what was so complex. She just couldn't figure out why Casey was so closed off, then it had hit her. Casey never told a story after going to college. From there, Casey became the enigma. It made Alex wonder what awful event haunted the object of her affection.

Spotting the redhead, she smiled. Casey was standing at the bar with Abbie. The two had become friends quite easily. Alex couldn't help but wonder if Casey would keep up the friendship once they departed. If she could one day get Casey to return to New York City with her, it would be nice for Casey to have a friend waiting for her. The bonus was how well Alex got along with Serena.

"I don't think you could drool over her more if you tried," Serena's voice cut her thoughts as she walked up and rejoined her new friend.

"Shut up, Rena." Alex grumbled as she fished her margarita from the table side.

Serena chuckled lightly under her breath as she sat down. "I'm just worried that you two might not share the same end goal is all."

"Why is that? I think she's proven that she is devoted to making this a lasting event, not a holiday sexcapade."

Pursing her lips, Serena nodded as she spotted the redhead talking to her fiancé, "Very true, Cabot. Very true...". She could only hope that Abbie would get all the facts.

Casey smirked at the ridiculous brunette. "That is an awful idea."

"How would you know? Hasn't it been years since you've been back to New York?" Abbie Carmichael scoffed.

"True," Casey hummed, "But I do a lot of reading in my downtime, and when I tell you it's a bad move, you should trust me."

"Does your mother realize you are this smart?"

"Ha," she snorted, "She only sees what she wants, and I'm not it. Plus, I didn't want to go back. I needed a break."

"That's a shame. You sound impressive." Abbie added as she flagged the bartender for another round. Once she'd pieced together exactly who Casey Burton was, there friendship had blossomed. She just didn't understand how someone like Ellis Novak couldn't see the immense value of her daughter. She also didn't understand why Casey hadn't come clean to Alex from the start. "So, how long are you going to string Cabot along?"

This question definitely caught the redhead's attention, and the fiery glare she instantly gave her bar mate told the woman she had greatly miss judged. "Excuse me?"

"The ladies talk," Abbie said with a snort, "Serena told me last night that you and Alex evidently got it on the first morning, but nothing since. I was just wondering what was going on."

"We didn't get it on," Casey whispered, as she glanced around for onlookers. Again, this was a completely new behavior for her. Normally, she didn't care about talking about her bedroom adventures, but she did now. She just wasn't sure why. Once she insured they wouldn't be overheard, she continued in a low voice, "We just watched each other get off. And for your information, I'm not leading her on. Leading her on would be sleeping with her before she knows, and I want her to know the real me first."

"Well then, I'm sorry." Abbie mended, "However, do you have plans of telling her at all?"

"Yes, I do actually," Casey confessed with a big smile, "I have the date planned and all. I have our next three trips booked, and at the third location I'm going to tell her everything."

Abbie set her beer down and rolled her head in the direction of her drink mate, "Why such an elaborate plan? Why not just be honest now?"

"Because I need to know that she feels the exact same way about me," she admitted all too easily.

"You don't think she does already?"

Casey looked into her friends dark eyes. "I hope she does, but you don't know part of the puzzle."

"Which is?" Abbie questioned.

"She seemed so lost when I first met her. So unsure of herself. After meeting me, she dramatically changed."

Abbie was confused by the disclosure. "Why can't that be a good thing?"

"It just isn't usually. I don't want to just be a hero figure that she is going to lose interest in...especially, when she knows who I am. When we get to our new locations, she will learn the deeper and real sides of me. I want her to know the good sides of me, before..." Pausing to finish her beer, she waved off her original wording. Sighing, she continued, "Before the playboy era. If she's still invested then...well, then it's the real thing."

The brunette couldn't help but stare at her friend. The woman truly had some heavy baggage, but she thought it was unfair that she carried it at all. Sighing herself, Abbie whispered, "Well, you have all my best wishes. I truly hope everything goes to plan."

"Thanks, pal." Casey replied as she took a long hard swig of her newly deposited cold beverage.

The friends sat in relative silence for a bit. Neither knew what exactly to say, so avoidance seemed to be the best plan. Eventually they turned, to see their significant others. It was at that moment, that Abbie felt compelled to speak, "If it doesn't go as planned...just call me when you get to the city."

"Will do, Buddy," Casey whispered, "Will do."

Packing her bags that evening, Alex took them to the door to join the others. All that was left in her room was her clothes for tomorrow's departure, and her makeup bag. It would be easy to wake in the morning and get dressed to leave, although she still didn't know their next location.

Turning to join Casey on the couch, Alex didn't hesitate to sit directly on the redheads lap. Draping her arms around the woman's neck, she enjoyed the sweet smile that formed on the younger woman's lips at her arrival. She lightly brushed their noses together, before gently kissing her, and whispering, "So, where to tomorrow?"

Casey threw her head back against the couch, trying to appear shocked, as she said, "I thought you planned it?"

"Knock it off, Burton," Alex chastised. "I know you planned something."

"I did."

"Told you," Alex smirked, before kissing her again quickly. "So..."

"We are going to an island off the coast of Florida. Gulf of Mexico side." Casey stated.

Suddenly feeling panic set in, Alex confirmed to herself more than anything, "We are going back to America..."

"That we are," she replied with a big grin. Casey was proud of herself pulling this trip off, especially with such short notice. "Everything will be fine as long as you stay dark. Don't use your phone or cards and your mother won't be able to find you."

"How do you know?" Alex deadpanned.

"Don't you ever watch television, Cabot?" Casey laughed with a snort. "You'll be fine. I promise. Plus, I am an old pro at staying off radars."

"You know, sometimes I think your an escaped convict on the lamb," the blonde joked.

"It's lam, hot shot," the younger woman shot back. "You might want to work on that before you hit the courtroom one day."

"You and the attorney jokes. I don't get it," she replied with a shake of the head.

"I'm just saying, I think you missed your calling." Casey again admitted with a laugh.

"You're so funny," Alex whispered before capturing Casey's lips again in a passionate kiss.

Boarding their second flight of the day, Casey sighed as she found their first class seats. So far, they'd been traveling for around seven hours and she was ready to be there four ago. Falling into the large, comfy seat was a luxurious feeling to her whole body. She was ready to rest for the next nine hours. "Sarasota here we come," she muttered more to herself than anything else.

"So, once in Florida, how are we getting to this island paradise that you have arranged for us?" Alex questioned as she put her bag overhead and sat next to Casey.

"Via rental vehicle. I wanted to drive." The redhead smirked.

Alex flashed her a genuine smile. The more she got to know the redhead, the more she realized she was falling hard for her. She wanted to know everything there was to know about this amazing, mysterious woman. "Want to play a game?"

Locking a firm look on blue eyes, Casey frowned, "What kind of game?" She didn't enjoy the unknown.

"One I use to play with new friends, it's fairly simple, I ask you twenty questions and you ask me twenty."

Casey already didn't like this game a bit. "And if I don't want to answer one, then what happens."

Normally, there wasn't an out for a question, but Alex could clearly see how uncomfortable Casey was with this proposal. "Then you can tell me something I don't already know about you that you are comfortable telling me. How does that sound?"

"Better," the younger woman sighed in submission.

"Great! Okay, do you want to ask the first question?" Alex beamed.

Now this offer perked Casey right up. She knew she could get away with asking Alex anything, but she also knew that if she struck hard, Cabot would follow suit. It was dangerous territory. Tapping her finger against her chin, she thought hard. "Okay, I've got it. When did you realize you were into women?"

"Well..." The blonde hesitated, "I always seemed to find women attractive, especially a few friends in high school, but the real knowledge hit in college. I got drunk with my roommate who was bisexual one night and we started fooling around...which eventually led to regular casual sex until she met her boyfriend the last month of school that year. We attempted a threesome, but I didn't want anything to do with his penis, not to mention it did nothing for me."

Casey couldn't help but laugh at the blonde's admission. "Wow, Cabot, I never would have taken you for the casual sex type. I'm impressed."

"What about you? When did you discover yourself?" Alex secretly hoped the returned question would get the redhead discussing her college days.

"I played a lot of sports in high school," she began, "I discovered it when I began checking the other girls out in the locker room. It worked great for me though, because a few of the softball girls were gay too. We began experimenting which was all the convincing I needed. I've had sex with a couple of guys, but it never did anything for me either."

"Did you date a lot of women in college?" Alex tried to sneak another question in.

"Ha! Only one question at a time!" Casey jumped. Smiling at the now blushing blonde, Casey paused long enough to let the flight attendant take their drink and dinner order. "Okay, where did you go to college?"

"Yale. I followed in my father's footsteps. Traditions are hard to turn down." Alex admitted.

"Interesting." Casey hummed to herself, "It prepares me for my next question."

"Well, too bad, because it's my turn," The blonde smirked. "Did you date a lot in college?"

Casey frowned at the question. It was immediately clear to Alex that she didn't want to discuss those years of her life for some unknown reason. Watching the younger woman swallow thickly, Alex started to ask another, but she was stopped. "No, not really. I kept to myself mostly after my first year. I went to Harvard. I was a bit of a bookworm."

"That was two very intriguing answers," Alex replied with a warm smile, "I guess I owe you two now."

Nodding In acknowledgement, Casey asked, "Why do you do whatever your mother asks?"

"My parents raised me to follow in their steps. It never seemed like I had a choice. They taught me to make them proud, and I always did until recently. Now I had to be free..." she said softly.

"Makes perfect sense," Casey genuinely replied.

Alex looked at the face of the woman she was falling so deeply for, "Does it?"

"Yes, it does. Living to make your parents proud...it's usually a sign that they lacked in affection during your developing years...did you have a nanny?" Casey stated more than questioned.

"I did, her name was Ms. Harriet. She was so sweet. I could tell her anything." The sweet smile that was on Alex's face from her memory was captivating. "I guess it's my question now?"

"Yeah." Casey said pushing her seat back a bit. "Go for it."

"Were you raised by a nanny?" Alex probed.

"Yes, we were..." Casey stared off at the seat in front of her as she spoke, "Any time I got from my parents was valued. However, we got very little of it. I guess it's why I adore the Empire State Building so much. My mother would take us to it every year. The whole day would just be about us...My question."

"Yes," Alex whispered, "Shoot."

Casey bit her bottom lip. These questions were nearing a dangerous level. It was time to find out wha she'd been wondering for a whole week. "Do you have real feelings for me? You know genuine ones?"

Alex looked deep into green eyes as she took the redhead's hand, "Yes, absolutely. Do you feel the same way about me?"

"Yes," was all Casey had the ability to say before the flight attendant interrupted with their drinks. Taking them in hand, she looked to Alex, "I'm falling deeply for you. But I want to know that I am not alone..."

Alex could only lean forward and lightly press her lips to Casey's. "You aren't alone. I am falling just as deep."

The two shared small, sweet kisses for another minute, before breaking apart. Casey was the first to speak, "Want to take a break from our game, and I will show you where we are going?"

"Absolutely," Alex beamed.

As Casey showed her everything she'd planned out, from a spa day, to a deep sea fishing excursion, to long sunset walks on the beach, she couldn't help but admit to herself that she'd fallen in love with Alex Cabot. The redhead wasn't sure exactly how, but she knew it deep within her. Something about this woman had broken her icy persona and stolen her heart, and now she wanted to share everything with her...